New York Jets: Aaron Glenn to the Big Apple, Detroit defenseless?

Aaron Glenn has been hired by the New York Jets to be their new head coach.  Glenn was previously the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.

He played most of his professional career with the Jets, being drafted by them with the 12^th pick in the 1994 NFL Draft. Glenn would later spend time with the Texans, Jaguars, Cowboys and Saints.

His coaching career began as an assistant defensive backs coach of the Cleveland Browns, defensive backs coach of the New Orleans Saints and finally his most recent position as defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions.

Glenn clearly has an eye for talent, especially at the defensive back position as he continued to bring out high level play from that position in Detroit through the elite level play of Terrion Arnold, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Now he gets to work with one of the top corners in the league in Ahmed Gardner in New York.

Lions: Campbells left ‘Home Alone’

The Lions are now without both of their coordinators that just helped them earn the NFC first seed with this hiring following the Bears hiring of Ben Johnson on Monday. The search is now  on for a replacement on both offense and defense leadership.

Lions will look to replace once again from inside their own facility. Kelvin Sheppard is the early favorite to be the replacement for Aaron Glenn. Sheppard is currently the linebackers coach for the Detroit Lions and is well respected within not only the franchises walls, but also by the players on the team as well.

Another name that has been tossed around only in rumors is former Jets HC Robert Saleh, however this seems very unlikely as it appears the Jaguars are considering him for their head coach position and if he does not end up there San Francisco reportedly plans to be willing to pay him handsomely for his services.

My bold prediction is the defense does not actually take much of a step back from the loss of Glenn. This is more of a testament to how the team itself is constructed, as most of the big players in each position group is young and will continue to grow. My eyes would be on the young cornerback in Terrion Arnold to see how his development continues post Glenn.

Jets: Glenn looks to avoid being ‘Lost in New York’

This appears to be a massive win for the Jets defensive side of the ball, which took an almost nose dive after firing former head coach Robert Saleh. Glenn, who himself is a former Jet, will look to continue to develop one of the better defenses in the league.

One name that looks to be added is Steve Wilks, who was last seen as the 49ers defensive coordinator enroute to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2023-24 season. Wilks will look to get a new stint as DC in the Big Apple.

Glenn looks to bring leadership that the Jets team is themselves excited to add. Quinnen Williams sent out a message of crossed fingers on social media when it was announced that Glenn was being interviewed for the position, a positive sign of things to come from the defensive unit.

The hardest task that Glenn is going to have is addressing the future of his signal caller. Aaron Rodgers is 41 and is entering the final year of his 3 year contract with the Jets. The Jets currently own the 7^th pick in the 2025 draft, just outside of possibility of getting Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, but could possibly look to draft a backup in the later rounds (or reach for Jaxon Dart).

In free agency, expect the Jets to now target Demario Davis and cut C.J. Mosley. Mosley has only played four times this past season and Demario and Glenn have history during both being on the Saints. Jets also need to find a replacement for D.J. Reed, who has been very open about his decision to not return to the Jets this offseason. Could see them reaching out to Charvarius Ward, Jaire Alexander (why not add more Packers) or even drafting Will Johnson out of Michigan to pair with Ahmad Gardner.

My bold prediction for this Jets team is that the defense returns to form as one of the best units in football, but they will still miss playoffs next season as the AFC is a much more difficult conference and the AFC East still has the Bills in it. Maybe the team sneaks into the wildcard round, but they would have to be better then one of the Bengals, Broncos, Chargers, or Steelers and I do not think the hiring of Glenn alone moves this team above them. The team will need to accept that the Rodgers era in New York was unfortunately not successful and embrace the future generation of Jets football.