Dan Campbell Aaron Glenn e1737398156376 Coach/GM CarouselPaul Sancya/Associated Press

If head-coach vacancies were passengers checking into the airport after Washington stunned Detroit Saturday night, then Lions coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson are preparing for takeoff. And they have both Clear and TSA Precheck.

“It’s going to fly because once the Lions were eliminated, it accelerated their hiring cycle that much more,” Adam Schefter said Monday on the Pat McAfee Show. “So, you’re going to see Ben Johnson get a job. You’re going to see Aaron Glenn get a job. I would imagine that both those guys have jobs no later than the middle of this week. Both of them.”

First up is Glenn, who reportedly has scheduled in-person interviews with the Jets early in the week and with the Saints for Wednesday. While Monday’s inauguration of President Donald Trump might delay the schedule, with Jets owner Woody Johnson in Washington D.C., don’t expect Glenn to remain with the Lions for long.

What’s interesting is that Glenn chose the Jets as his initial in-person interview, ahead of New Orleans. Glenn interviewed virtually with the Jets (Jan. 9), Raiders (Jan. 10), Saints (Jan. 10) and Bears (Jan. 11). Whether Johnson allows Glenn to leave without signing him to a long-term contract as the Jets’ next head coach, or whether Glenn is fully committed to meeting face-to-face with the Saints, remains to be seen. The 12th-overall selection in the first round of the 1994 draft, Glenn spent eight of his 15 years as player in the Jets’ defensive backfield, helping the team to playoff appearances in 1998 and 2001. He recorded 24 interceptions in a Jets uniform.

Glenn also spent five seasons as the defensive backs coach on Sean Payton’s Saints staffs from 2016-2020 before joining Dan Campbell as the Lions’ defensive coordinator. That hire was significant for the Lions because, when Glenn is hired by his next team, Campbell and the Lions will gain a special compensatory selection in the 2025 draft.

“And the Lions will lose both their coordinators,” Schefter said. “We’ve talked about that before. It’s obvious right now. These are the top two guys out there right now. In no particular order. Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson. They’re going to get jobs. They’re going to have multiple opportunities. It’s just a question of where they want to go right now.”

Johnson, like Glenn, has multiple options: Chicago, Jacksonville and Las Vegas. While he was preparing for the Commanders last week, agent Rick Smith was likely nailing down contract particulars with each of those suitors. Last week, ProFootballPost.com sources said that Johnson blew away the Raiders in his Jan. 10 virtual interview with his participation. So, a second, in-person interview this week might not amount to much more than signing his contract. Glenn’s agent has him in the same situation, although both Johnson and Glenn surely hoped they’d be at this point later in January, or even after the Super Bowl.

“They have agents,” Schefter continued. “Agents are allowed to talk over and over and do their business and gather as much intel and put together their boards and figure out all the answers to the equations here. So that if and when these guys are available, which many people thought it would be after the Super Bowl, they’re ready now. So, essentially, they’re handed dossiers of information on organizations and where they would want to go. And then, they sit down and again, the process is accelerated to where they have to just make the decision about where they want to go.”

And when they decide where to go, watch the dominoes fall across the league, affecting everything from GM searches to coordinator vacancies. Should Johnson choose Las Vegas over Chicago, the Bears might go all-in on Mike McCarthy. Should Johnson choose the Jaguars, veteran coaches like Robert Saleh and Pete Carroll might be in play in other cities, such as Chicago. Saleh could be hired this week by Jacksonville should Johnson first choose Chicago or Las Vegas. Should Glenn choose the Jets, McCarthy could be a strong candidate in New Orleans.

Lance Newmark’s family might be curious whether Johnson chooses Las Vegas. The Commanders’ assistant GM reportedly met with the Raiders on Sunday and could rejoin Johnson, with whom Newmark spent several years in Detroit assembling a strong roster.

Glenn might have a particular GM candidate he prefers with the Jets, who’ve reportedly interviewed 15 candidates but none a second time. Should Glenn chose New York, that GM search is likely to accelerate as well.

But Glenn and Johnson need to board the plane before any of that can happen. Buckle up.

For more information on the Jets, Raiders and Saints, or the NFL hiring cycle, visit the N.Y. Jets, Las Vegas or Chicago team pages, and the Coach/GM Carousel page at ProFootballPost.com.


Discover more from Pro Football Post

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

By Zak Gilbert

Since his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Zak Gilbert has worked 30 years in sports, including 18 NFL seasons. He's spent time with four NFL teams, serving as head of communications for both the Raiders and Browns. A veteran of nine Super Bowls, he most recently worked six seasons in the NFL's New York league office.

Leave a Reply