Tag: Aaron Glenn

It’s about time Steve Atwater made the Hall of Fame

Steve Atwater wasn’t known for this time with the Jets but still had a long and fruitful career in the defensive backfield.

It took 16 years, but “The Smiling Assassin” will finally grin forever in Canton.

Steve Atwater, the former Broncos and Jets safety, joined the class of 2020 as a Pro Football Hall of Famer 21 years after he retired from the league. Atwater made his hay as one of the hardest hitting safeties of the 1990s, terrifying offenses at the line of scrimmage and stopping even the mightiest of running backs.

Though he only played one nondescript season with the Jets, Atwater rightfully deserved the Hall of Fame induction after 16 years of eligibility and three as a finalist. Atwater retired the year after he signed with the Jets as a free agent in 1999, a season in which he only played 12 games and tallied just 63 total tackles and one forced fumble.

Atwater didn’t bring pain and terror to the Jets defense, but he racked up stats and accolades during his 10-year career with the Broncos. He earned eight Pro Bowl nods, two All-Pro selections, won two Super Bowls and registered 1,000 tackles, 24 interceptions, five sacks, five forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries.

The Broncos used Atwater the way a lot of big-bodied safeties play now – at the line of scrimmage. There, he crushed running backs and played a pivotal role in the Broncos’ run defense. Two moments encapsulate Atwater’s career: His devastating hit on Chiefs running back Christian Okoye and his dominating performance in Super Bowl XXXII.

Atwater somehow derailed Okoye in Week 2 of the 1990 season, a feat now many could accomplish given Okoye’s 6-foot-1, 260-pound frame. At 6-foot-3, 218 pounds, Atwater proved himself up to the task. Atwater played a pivotal role in the Broncos’ first of two consecutive Super Bowl wins. He terrorized the Green Bay Packers offense in Super Bowl XXXII with six solo tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. 

Once his career concluded in Denver, Atwater joined the Bill Parcells-led Jets in 1999. Atwater played alongside Victor Green in the deep secondary with cornerbacks Marcus Coleman and Aaron Glen on the outside. The Jets went 8-8 in Parcells’ first year in New York and Atwater finished sixth on the team in total tackles with 63.

Atwater paved the way for safeties like Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins and Landon Collins to become staples of the defenses as imposing defensive backs. He won’t be remembered for his time with the Jets, but Atwater’s career as a whole certainly deserved Hall of Fame recognition.

Report: Saints DB’s coach Aaron Glenn turned down ‘enhanced role’ with Giants

The New York Giants were unable to reach an agreement with New Orleans Saints coach Aaron Glenn on an ‘enhanced role’ under Patrick Graham.

[jwplayer 7LnQTnmt-ThvAeFxT]

It’s been a busy offseason for New Orleans Saints defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn. He was courted by the New York Giants as a defensive coordinator earlier in January, but was passed over in favor of Patrick Graham, the Miami Dolphins coordinator who previously worked with first-year Giants coach Joe Judge when they were on Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots staff.

However, that wasn’t the end of negotiations between Glenn and the Giants. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Glenn discussed “an enhanced role” with Big Blue, but opted to remain with the Saints. The details of that role are unclear; it’s possible Glenn may have been offered some sort of passing-game coordinator role, a distinction used by some teams to split responsibilities and keep sometimes-overqualified coaches in the building.

Glenn, 47, has risen to prominence in New Orleans after helping build a competitive secondary largely made up of undrafted free agents (such as Ken Crawley and De’Vante Harris), ex-Giants cornerbacks (Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins), and a few high draft picks (Vonn Bell, Marshon Lattimore, and Marcus Williams among them). Last offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals tried to interview Glenn, but the Saints declined their request. It feels like Glenn will move on to a larger role with a new team sooner or later.

[vertical-gallery id=27549]

Report: Giants interview Derek Dooley, Aaron Glenn for staff positions

The New York Giants met with both former Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley and New Orleans Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn on Wednesday.

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge, who is hard at work in Mobile, Alabama at the Senior Bowl, managed to break away from the action for a bit on Wednesday to interview two new potential coaching staff candidates.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that the Giants met with both former University of Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley and New Orleans Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn.

Judge interviewed former University of Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley on Wednesday, according to a source. Dooley filled a variety of roles, including tight ends coach, on Saban’s staff at LSU from 2000-04. He then joined Saban’s staff with the Dolphins as tight ends coach from 2005-06.

. . .

Aaron Glenn interviewed for a position with the Giants on Wednesday, according to a source. It’s not exactly clear what position Glenn interviewed for, but it’s a safe bet that it would be in the secondary.

The Giants are currently without a tight ends coach — a job that could go to Freddie Kitchens if he’s ultimately hired — but do have a new defensive backs coach in Jerome Henderson, so it’d be curious to see what the team may have in mind for Glenn.

[lawrence-related id=639082,639076,639062]

Report: Giants pass on Saints coach Aaron Glenn, hire Patrick Graham as DC

Joe Judge and the New York Giants passed on New Orleans Saints coach Aaron Glenn to hire Patrick Graham as their new defensive coordinator.

[jwplayer zGvj4qmS-ThvAeFxT]

It almost looked like the New Orleans Saints would lose another important piece of their coaching staff, but for now, defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn will remain in black and gold. The team already lost linebackers coach Mike Nolan to the Dallas Cowboys (where he’ll work as defensive coordinator beneath head coach Mike McCarthy), so this is some good news for Saints fans.

Glenn was one of two candidates reported to be considered for the open defensive coordinator job under first-year Giants head coach Joe Judge, along with Miami Dolphins coordinator Patrick Graham (who worked alongside Judge previously with the New England Patriots). However, Glenn will not even get to interview for the position.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Graham would indeed be the new Giants defensive coordinator, having interviewed with Big Blue this weekend. The Dolphins intend to promote from within the organization, so it doesn’t appear Glenn will be jumping ship for Miami.

Continuity is important, and Glenn has done a good job helping scout, develop, and prepare a very young defensive secondary in his first few years on the job. Few groups have performed better around the league during his tenure. Considering their long list of pending free agents, the fewer organizational changes the Saints have to make this offseason, the better.

[vertical-gallery id=26750]

Report: Saints coach Aaron Glenn being considered for Giants DC

New Orleans Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn is reportedly being considered for New York Giants defensive coordinator under Joe Judge.

[jwplayer zGvj4qmS-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints have already lost one important defensive assistant when the Dallas Cowboys hired away linebackers coach Mike Nolan, and New Orleans could risk losing another big part of their success in defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn.

Per a report from the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, the New York Giants are considered Glenn for their open defensive coordinator position beneath first-year head coach Joe Judge. The Giants have already requested an interview with Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, so Glenn would be their second option.

Glenn’s role with the Saints has centered around helping scout and develop young defensive backs like Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Williams, Eli Apple, J.T. Gray, and Justin Hardee, much like Nolan did with the linebackers. Under Glenn’s tutelage, the Saints went on to field one of the league’s better secondaries in 2019, with Williams ranking among NFL leaders with four interceptions. His loss would be big, to say the least.

And other teams have tried to lure him away before. Last offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals requested an interview with Glenn, which the Saints blocked. No official request from the Giants has been filed just yet, but it’s very possible the Saints lose more assistants in the coming weeks as coaching staffs are built around the league.

[vertical-gallery id=26836]

Report: Giants will consider Aaron Glenn as possible defensive coordinator

The New York Giants are reportedly considering Aaron Glenn as their next defensive coordinator.

Joe Judge is actively seeking to pick his top coordinators as part of his new coaching staff for the New York Giants.

One name Judge is looking at is current Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Another current coach reportedly on the radar for the Giants is New Orleans Saints defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn.

Another NFL assistant Judge will consider for defensive coordinator is Aaron Glenn, according to a source. Glenn, 47, is the Saints’ defensive backs coach. He played 15 years in the NFL and was the Jets’ first-round draft pick in 1994. Glenn was a Jets scout in 2012 and 2013.

The Giants are seeking to replace James Bettcher, who served two season as the defensive coordinator under the now departed Pat Shurmur.

Glenn is well-known in the New York area for his long-time tenure as a player with the New York Jets. He also served two years as a personnel scout with the Jets from 2012-2013. Glenn played for 15 years as a defensive back and was a former first-round pick of Gang Green back in 1994.

Unlike Graham, who served as an assistant coach with Judge with the New England Patriots going back to the 2012 season, Glenn doesn’t have any previous ties to Judge.

Glenn has been a part of Sean Payton’s coaching staff since the 2016 season and has had a successful unit in New Orleans under Dennis Allen’s defense, which has drawn attention to him in coaching circles.

Aside from coaching the Saints’ defensive backs over the last four seasons, Glenn also served two seasons as the Cleveland Browns assistant defensive backs coach from 2014-2015.

[lawrence-related id=638211,638207,638180]