A popular name on this year’s head coaching carousel, Aaron Glenn will almost definitely reprise that role in 2025. The Lions have fared much better defensively this season, remaining on course despite losing early Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Aidan Hutchinson. How the unit performs after more injuries have occurred will further shape Glenn’s candidacy.
One team that is expected to be in on Glenn next year will be the one that launched him onto the coordinator radar. The Saints are not expected to move on from GM Mickey Loomis, and that would strengthen the chances of Glenn receiving extensive consideration to return to New Orleans. The Saints are indeed expected to show interest in Glenn, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. He was on the radar for the team back in 2022 as well.
Glenn, 52, worked as the Saints’ defensive backs coach from 2016-2020. This period coincided with New Orleans changing course on defense, rocketing from one of the league’s worst units to helping Drew Brees during his final seasons. The Saints made four straight playoff berths from 2017-20, with Glenn overseeing the development of Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Williams. The Lions took note, with ex-Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell bringing him to Detroit.
Glenn’s Lions defenses have been a mixed bag. Detroit ran into consistent struggles on this side of the ball during its rebuild, with Glenn coming up as a coordinator on the hot seat early in 2022. Last season brought a collapse in the NFC championship game, as Detroit’s pass defense struggled down the stretch. The Lions ranked 23rd in scoring defense last season. This year, however, Glenn’s unit sits second despite the losses of Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport. The team has continued to play well despite losing linebacker regular Derrick Barnes, though recent injuries piling up at linebacker will test the unit ahead of a tough schedule sector.
The 2025 HC interview cycle could be crucial for Glenn, who has been a regular candidate for the past two offseasons. Glenn interviewed for four HC jobs last year, meeting with the Commanders twice. Though, Washington was widely believed to covet Glenn coworker Ben Johnson, who bowed out of the running late. He met with two teams about their vacancies in 2023 and two others in 2022. The 2022 cycle proves most relevant here, as the Saints conducted an interview ahead of their Dennis Allen promotion. Glenn worked under Allen throughout the latter’s run as New Orleans’ DC.
Considering Allen’s shortcomings, it would be interesting to see if the Saints again showed significant interest in another of Sean Payton‘s former lieutenants. This organization, however, has prioritized familiarity more than most this century. Holding his job for 23 years, Loomis is the NFL’s longest-tenured active GM — among non-owners who hold de facto GM titles — but the team is heading toward its fourth season missing the playoffs. It would stand to reason a reset of some sort would be strongly considered, but with Loomis on track to stay, Glenn appears firmly in play to come back.
I wouldn’t take that job if they keep the GM. Clearly, he’s not good at building rosters.
I don’t feel that’s an entirely fair assessment. Loomis has done some good things. He’s a wizard with the cap, and he’s made some good free agency signings. He’s also patient, which as a HC, you want.
He does have his weak points, though. The draft has been a bit of a mixed bag for the Saints, as it can be for any club. That’s not entirely on him. I feel like the Saints gravitate to certain traits in players they like as opposed to taking the best players available, though.
There are better jobs, sure. I think Chicago will top a lot of lists. There are way worse though, too. The Jets, and likely the Giants and Raiders will be looking; which are dumpster fires.
I don’t think a wizard of the cap is an accurate description for him. Every year they are $60-80 million over the cap and he adds void years to get under. He just kicks the can down the road getting into a bigger mess. A lot of GM’s do it but not like he does.
@actiondan. I never heard the word cap hell until Loomis took over. Definitely not a wizard. Bears might be the job everyone wants. I can see Glenn going for it, and maybe Johnson waits another year.
He is no wizard, you don’t kick the can for a team that is consistently out of playoffs last 3 years. It was fine during Brees prime. They have no was, bottom tier qb, aging rb, bad olive, old line, 1 old lb, bad secondary. Nothing is worth pushing the cap back.