Tag: Aaron Glenn

Aaron Glenn declares open competition for starting CB job between Jeff Okudah and Will Harris

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn declares open competition for starting outside CB job between Jeff Okudah and Will Harris

During the first few days of Detroit Lions training camp, we’ve seen a pretty steady rotation between Jeff Okudah and Will Harris as one of the Lions’ first-team outside cornerback spots. On Monday, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn officially stated it’s a battle between the two for the gig.

It’s an interesting battle. Okudah is trying to assert himself after two disappointing, injury-riddled seasons since being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Harris is moving from safety, where he’s been one of the league’s worst regular starters over the last couple of seasons.

So far, it’s been a great summer for both. Okudah looks faster than ever now that he’s fully recovered from an Achilles injury suffered in Week 1 last year. Harris has nicely built off a late-season emergency move to cornerback, looking far more natural than he ever did at safety.

Glenn let them know they’re working for the same goal: the starting outside spot across from Amani Oruwariye.

“I called both of those guys at the same time and just told them, ‘Here’s the deal. Are you guys going to compete?’ They look forward to it and they were open to seeing what the competition is going to be about,” Glenn said before Monday’s practice session.

Okudah battling for the job might seem like a disappointment for such a lofty recent draft pick, but it’s important that he must earn the role. Harris’ play has been a pleasant surprise thus far, ensuring that it’s a legitimate battle.

Head coach Dan Campbell agreed. Here’s what Campbell said Monday when asked if it’s a competition between Okudah and Harris,

“Yes, we do. Yes, we do. We think Will Harris is very much in play out there, and he’s getting a chance. He’s going to get a chance to compete for that, he and Okudah both. And so, it’s – may the best man win and let them go after it, and then see what we’ve got. I mean we – we’ll figure that out once we get to the season. You’d rather not be in a timeshare-type thing, but yet man, if they’re both guys we need to have out there, we’ll find a way to get them out there and use them.”

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Aaron Glenn wants his Lions D to ‘play with violence’ like he did as a player

Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn wants his Lions D to ‘play with violence’ like he did as a player

Aaron Glenn is a hot name in NFL coaching circles as someone ticketed for rapid advancement. The Lions defensive coordinator has already had two head coaching interviews, and they won’t be his last.

In a nice interview on ESPN Adam Schefter’s eponymous podcast, Glenn honestly assessed his coaching skills and why he’s so coveted.

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“This game is about, how many plays can I beat you?”, Glenn told Schefter. “In a 60-play game, how many plays can I outlast you?”

Glenn continued to expound upon his coaching philosophy,

“A couple of the things that (the Lions coaching staff) talks about is playing with maximum effort. Getting the ball back. And playing with violence. That’s who I was as a player, and as a defensive coach that’s what I go about.

I think the players understand — they see that there’s nothing fake about the way I operate. I think that’s one thing the players see. They know a fake when they see one.”

The longtime NFL cornerback was a favorite of hard-nosed coach Bill Parcells, and Glenn’s tough-but-praiseful-love approach definitely works.

Glenn’s words should strike a very deep chord with Detroit, a team that suffered through three seasons of Matt Patricia leading the team with a decided lack of sincerity or authenticity. It’s a clearly visible sea change of attitude from the coaching staff now comprised predominately of former NFL players, something several players have noted this offseason as well.

It’s a great conversation that includes a light moment where Schefter praises Glenn’s outstanding speed as a player after the second-year Lions DC talks about his lack of size.

Ranking the offenses the Detroit Lions will face in 2022

Here’s how the 14 offenses on Detroit’s 2022 schedule stack up.

The Detroit Lions defense is changing its base scheme and promises to be a more aggressive, attacking unit in the second year under coordinator Aaron Glenn.

They’re in for quite a few challenges in the 2022 season. The Lions have several potent offenses on the 17-game docket. Which ones are the best, and which ones figure to be easier for the new-look Lions defense to handle?

Here’s how the 14 offenses on Detroit’s 2022 schedule stack up, from worst to best.

Lions must lower the opposing QB Rating against the Detroit defense in 2022

Detroit has finished in the bottom 5 in QB Rating allowed in each of the last 4 seasons.

Among the many areas for improvement in 2022, the Detroit Lions defense has one critical one. The Lions must escape the bottom rung of the NFL’s pass defenses in the QB Rating allowed metric.

It’s been too long since the Lions finished in the top half of the NFL for the full season in QB Rating allowed:

2021 – 101.0 (30th)

2020 – 112.4 (32nd)

2019 – 99.6 (27th)

2018 – 102.7 (30th)

The last time Detroit was in the upper half of the league was 2017, when Teryl Austin’s defense under head coach Jim Caldwell. That Lions defense, featuring a great secondary built around All-Pro CB Darius Slay and safeties Glover Quin and Quandre Diggs, allowed a QB Rating of 84.1 that ranked 14th in the NFL. Not coincidentally, that was the last season Detroit posted a winning record. The league QB Rating allowed average hovers right around 86.0 each year with some wiggle room.

While QB Rating isn’t a flawless metric, it does provide a pretty accurate assessment of how effective a pass defense is going against it.

Adding DE Aidan Hutchinson can only help the pass rush, one of the core components of keeping the opposing passing game under control. The secondary will need to create more interceptions and perform better in the red zone, two other areas where QB Ratings get fluffed up against a bad defense. That’s one key area for improvement for Aaron Glenn’s defense in 2022.

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Aaron Glenn offers insight on his experience in the NFL’s Accelerator Program

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn offers insight on his experience in the NFL’s Accelerator program

Aaron Glenn will be an NFL coach sooner than later. To that end, the Lions bright defensive coordinator was one of the prominent participants in the NFL’s Accelerator Program.

Held at the recent NFL meetings in Atlanta, the Accelerator Program is designed to help minority coaching and GM candidates to get better exposure and experience to help land the jobs they’re interviewing for. Glenn interviewed with the Broncos and Saints for their head coaching vacancies this offseason and is seen as a rising star in the coaching ranks.

He shared insight on his experience in the program with NBC’s Peter King, who graciously shared a few quotes from his conversation with the 49-year-old Glenn.

From King’s Football Morning in America,

“First night, we had a cocktail hour, which was unbelievable. [Atlanta owner] Arthur Blank, [Cleveland’s] Jimmy Haslam, [the Jets’] Woody Johnson, Steven Jones [of the Cowboys], [Buffalo’s Terry] Mr. Pegula. I not only talked to them, but exchanged personal phone numbers. I told my wife, ‘My phone is worth a trillion dollars now.’ Those conversations didn’t have a lot to do with football. Who am I as a person. Who are they as people.

Glenn addressed his status as an aspiring head coach during Lions OTAs last week with an earnest admission.

“I think I have the best job in the world. I really do,” Glenn said last week. “Man, I think I’m working for an outstanding head coach. I’m working for an outstanding owner. Outstanding president. Really good people in the building to work with. My main deal right now, I want to be the best coordinator Detroit has ever had. I’m going to stand by that and continue to say it because I really believe that in my heart. If the head coaching deal happens. It happens. But for right now? I think I have an outstanding job. I really do.”

If Glenn’s coaching helps Detroit’s revitalized defensive roster improve from the depths of the NFL rankings, he won’t need to be in the second edition of the Accelerator Program.

Former Cowboys DB shares insight into NFL’s Accelerator program

Aaron Glenn was an NFL CB and the Lions’ current DC, but it was a 2-day meeting in Atlanta that may give him a leg up becoming a head coach. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Most everyone these days claims to have their whole life saved on their phone. For Aaron Glenn, though, his phone may now contain the key to his future as an NFL head coach.

The Lions defensive coordinator and longtime defensive back was one of 60-plus participants in the NFL’s new Front Office Accelerator program, which took place in Atlanta during the league’s recent spring owners’ meeting.

Glenn played for Dallas in 2005 and 2006 under head coach Bill Parcells. He also played for the Jets, Texans, Jaguars, and Saints, and had coaching stops in Cleveland and New Orleans before landing in Detroit on the staff of head coach Dan Campbell, one of his old Cowboys’ teammates.

That’s a lot of experience in a lot of NFL facilities, a lot of up-close-and-personal time with a lot of of coaches and team executives.

But unfortunately, despite a healthy list of business contacts and personal references, Glenn is still at a disadvantage when it comes to climbing the coaching ladder in the NFL.

So the league asked each team to nominate two minority or female assistants- prospective head coach or front office candidates- to attend the spring session. There, they would spend two days meeting and interacting with team owners whom they would otherwise be hard-pressed to get time with.

The Cowboys sent two from their current staff: assistant director of college scouting Chris Vaugh and secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. This offseason, Whitt received interest from several clubs- Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Baltimore- to be their new defensive coordinator.

He, like Glenn, is thought to be a strong head coach candidate in the very near future.

Peter King shared Glenn’s experience in his latest Football Morning in America column.

Glenn called the program “a really good experience,” one that helped him gain exposure and make solid connections with several team leaders, including the Cowboys’ executive vice president Stephen Jones.

“I had maybe 40 minutes with Stephen Jones,” Glenn said, “and a lot of what we talked about was who was the best NBA player of all time: LeBron, Kobe, or Michael Jordan. I found it amazing, the commonality between me and the majority of these owners on so many things. The only difference is their bank accounts are bigger than mine.”

Glenn says his mindset going in was to be himself, to let the owners get to know his real personality.

“Me coming to the meeting didn’t change anything about me,” Glenn told King. “I feel like I am an NFL head coach. How the owners feel, I can’t answer that. The change now has to be: Do they feel I’m worthy?”

That answer will only come with time, with future coaches’ hiring cycles. Will candidates like Glenn, Whitt, and Vaugh get more interviews? Will they be seriously considered for top openings? Will they get hired as head coaches?

Maybe. Hopefully.

“Is this the answer? No. Is it part of a solution? It may be,” NFL executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent told King. “This is a new day. It’s not about forcing anyone to hire anyone. It’s about exposing good coaches to those who make the calls.”

And if Glenn gets the call, it may ultimately be thanks to a two-day networking event where a room full of up-and-coming football assistants and established team owners got together to shake hands, share experiences, and exchange contact info.

“I not only talked to them, but exchanged personal phone numbers,” Glenn said. “I told my wife, ‘My phone is worth a trillion dollars now.’ Those conversations didn’t have a lot to do with football, [but] who am I as a person, who are they as people.”

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Ray Agnew and Aaron Glenn will rep the Lions in leadership accelerator program

Ray Agnew and Aaron Glenn will rep the Lions in a leadership accelerator program put on by the NFL in the next league meetings

When the NFL holds its next set of league meetings in Atlanta next week, two Detroit Lions coaches will be involved in a promising new program to promote minority coaching candidates.

The “NFL Coach and Front Office Accelerator” will feature numerous development opportunities for minority candidates looking to climb the football ladder. The Lions will be represented by assistant GM Ray Agnew and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

From the NFL’s press release,

The program will provide senior women and minority prospects with leadership development sessions with football operations experts and facilitators, as well as time spent networking directly with club owners. The effort is designed to continue building a diverse hiring pipeline for future head coach and general manager positions throughout the League.

Glenn’s participation is no surprise. He interviewed for head coaching positions this past offseason and is widely seen as a rising star in the coaching ranks. Agnew has proven himself a capable front office leader in a variety of capacities in his time with the Rams and Lions.

All 32 NFL teams will have at least one representative participating in the program.

Lions DC Aaron Glenn on Aidan Hutchinson: ‘He is a Detroit Lion through and through’

A very happy Aaron Glenn greeted the media and talked about Aidan Hutchinson

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Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was the first member of the team to speak publicly after Detroit selected Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Glenn was a very happy man as he greeted the media inside Lions headquarters in Allen Park, not far from where Hutchinson played his high school ball.

“Listen, we deserve this player,” Glenn said with a smile. “We do. And this player deserves us as a coaching staff also.”

A clearly enthused Glenn continued,

“We’re excited. This is a good time for Detroit.”

When asked why the Lions chose Hutchinson over several other pass rushing options at No. 2, Glenn talked up the diversity of talent of the class. But Hutchinson’s effort won them over.

“He’s relentless in how many ways he can get to the quarterback. He plays the run well.”

Then came the capper,

“He is a Detroit Lion through and through.”

 

Alex Anzalone re-signs with Lions, eager to recruit Saints free agent Marcus Williams

Alex Anzalone re-signed with the Lions and is eager to recruit his old teammate Marcus Williams, a top Saints pending free agent:

Hey, good for Alex Anzalone. The former New Orleans Saints linebacker played a personal-best 838 defensive snaps in 2021 with the Detroit Lions, and showed them enough to earn a one-year contract extension and return for 2022. And when discussing his new deal with Detroit media on Monday, Anzalone expressed eagerness to use his connections and try to bring more help for the Lions defense.

When asked whether he would throw his support behind a recruiting pitch for Saints free safety Marcus Williams, Anzalone was all smiles. He considers Williams one of his close friends, having been drafted together by New Orleans in 2017, and said, “If Dan (Campbell) and Brad (Holmes) give me the go-ahead, I definitely will.”

Williams makes a ton of sense for Detroit, despite their sensitive salary cap situation. His old position coach Aaron Glenn is now the Lions defensive coordinator, and could really use Williams’ help in cleaning up their secondary. The opportunity to earn a nice payday and work with people he knows well has to appeal to Williams. We’ll see if Anzalone’s influence is enough to push this one over the finish line.

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NFL GM: Lions DC Aaron Glenn ‘will be a head coach in our league’

Glenn interviewed for two head coaching gigs this offseason and more opportunities are sure to come his way

It’s no secret that Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is one of the NFL’s hottest names for future head coaching candidates. Glenn interviewed for two positions this offseason but did not land the jobs in New Orleans or Denver.

It will not be long before an NFL team says “you’re hired” to Glenn and turns over control of the team to the 49-year-old former player. We got even more reinforcing evidence of that during the 2022 NFL scouting combine, thanks to NBC Sports’ Peter King.

Here’s what King reported in his scouting combine wrap-up on Football Morning In America,

When I asked around about Black coach candidates to a few NFL GMs, I heard only one name out of three mouths: Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. A Bill Parcells disciple, Glenn, 49, is a former 15-year NFL corner with 41 career interceptions. He’s a steely, bright guy who players (I’m told) love playing for.

Glenn interviewed for the Saints’ head-coaching job, and GM Mickey Loomis told me he had a great one. The problem there was Dennis Allen, who’d been on the New Orleans staff since 2015 and has choreographed one of the best defenses in the league. Someone was going to overwhelm the Saints to knock out Allen. Glenn came close.

“Aaron will be a head coach in our league,” Loomis told me.

Glenn’s work in developing young talent in his first season in Detroit and cobbling together a defense that improved despite a series of devastating injuries definitely impressed the league. Lions fans need to appreciate Glenn while he’s still in Detroit.