Aaron Glenn is officially on the market much earlier than expected, and the New York Jets could have their next head coach in the coming days rather than the coming weeks.
Glenn’s Detroit Lions were upset by the Washington Commanders, 45-31, in the NFC Divisional Round on Saturday night. This resulted in a premature and shocking end to a 15-2 season that had the long-tortured franchise poised as potential Super Bowl favorites.
The defensive coordinator is now available to sign with a new team — a step up to the head-coaching ranks feels like a certainty at this point, even with his unit getting gashed open by Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
According to reports, Glenn’s top preference for his first head-coaching job is with the Jets, where he played for them for eight seasons from 1994 to 2001.
As dysfunctional as the franchise seems following a disastrous 4-13 campaign that featured the mid-season firings of GM Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh, there are still valuable pieces to build a contending team around.
The majority of those pieces are on the defense, which could use a refresh after a stale showing in 2024. However, Glenn has certainly worked with worse units, as seen in Detroit, and he still transformed it into a top-10 group this year. Injuries ultimately derailed his defense in the playoffs, though, as a dramatically shorthanded squad was no match for Daniels and the Commanders.
It is understandable if Saturday night’s performance provides a moment of pause for Jets fans, but it should not be a result that dissuades one from hiring Glenn. The best example could be found across the field on the opposite sidelines on Saturday night in Detroit, as Commanders head coach Dan Quinn’s final game as Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator saw his side gashed open for 48 points by the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Round one year ago.
After a four-win season, the Commanders still hired Quinn, and now he has the franchise in its first NFC Championship Game in 33 years.
So do not put too much stock into Detroit’s collapse on Saturday night. Glenn has already proven he can play an important role in turning around a franchise that has been wandering the football desert for the better part of 70 years. Now, he has an opportunity to return to the team that drafted him 31 years ago and do so again in a much larger capacity.
