01/22/25 02:04:00
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01/22 14:03 CST Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn agrees to terms with
Jets to be head coach, AP source says
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn agrees to terms with Jets to be head
coach, AP source says
By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
AP Pro Football Writer
The New York Jets and Aaron Glenn agreed to terms on making the Detroit Lions
defensive coordinator their head coach on Wednesday, according to a person with
knowledge of the hiring.
Glenn, who oversaw the Lions' defense the past four years, beat out 15 other
candidates for the job as the Jets went through an extensive search to find
their next coach.
And they ended up choosing one of their former players --- a first-round draft
pick in 1994 who now gets the chance to try to turn around the fortunes of the
franchise 31 years later as its coach.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the
team had not yet announced the hiring. ESPN first reported that Glenn agreed to
coach the Jets.
The 52-year-old, who turned Detroit's defense into one of the best in the
league, has been one of the most sought candidates during the NFL's past two
hiring cycles. He interviewed with Washington, Atlanta, Tennessee and the Los
Angeles Chargers last year, and he met with the Jets, Jacksonville, Las Vegas
and Chicago this year.
Glenn spoke with the Jets during a video call on Jan. 9 and then interviewed in
person Tuesday.
The Jets also interviewed Brian Flores, Jeff Hafley, Vance Joseph, Mike
Locksley, Josh McCown, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Darren Rizzi, Rex Ryan, Bobby
Slowik, Arthur Smith, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich, Mike Vrabel and Joe Whitt
Jr. for the job.
But only Glenn received a second interview. And New York didn't need to think
twice about talking to anyone else again.
Glenn would become the third Black head coach in the franchise's history,
joining Herm Edwards and Todd Bowles. He's also the first Black coach to be
hired to lead an NFL team during this year's hiring cycle.
The Jets also are going through a lengthy search for a general manager, and
Washington assistant general manager Lance Newmark also was at the team's
facility Tuesday.
Newmark, one of 15 candidates to interview for the GM job, was the first to get
a second meeting with the Jets --- like Glenn --- but hasn't agreed to a deal.
Glenn and the new GM will be tasked with trying to revamp a franchise that has
the NFL's longest active playoff drought at 14 seasons.
Glenn played eight seasons with New York and was selected as one of the
cornerbacks on the franchise's All-Time Four Decade team in 2003.
He later had stints with Houston, Dallas, Jacksonville and New Orleans and
finished his career with 41 interceptions, including six returned for
touchdowns, and made the Pro Bowl three times.
After his 15-year playing career, Glenn had a stint as the general manager for
the Houston Stallions of the Lone Star Football League in 2012 before coming
back to the Jets as a personnel scout later that year. He served as Cleveland's
assistant defensive backs coach from 2014 to 2015 before being hired for the
same position in New Orleans. After five seasons with the Saints, he was hired
by the Lions as defensive coordinator in 2021.
Joe Namath, the quarterback who led the Jets to their only Super Bowl victory,
in 1969, was pleased with the hiring of Glenn.
"I'm hoping all @nyjets fans are as thrilled as my family and I are that Aaron
Glenn is our new Head Coach," Namath wrote on X shortly after the news broke.
"I wish the season would start next week!"
The Lions, who lost to Washington last Saturday in the NFC divisional round,
now have lost both of their coordinators with Glenn joining the Jets and
offensive guru Ben Johnson hired by the Bears.
Glenn would become the sixth first-time full-time head coach to be hired by the
Jets since the end of the 2000 season. He joins Edwards, Eric Mangini, Rex
Ryan, Bowles and Robert Saleh. All had defensive backgrounds, with the lone
coaching hire by New York during that span with an offensive background being
Adam Gase in 2019.
Jets owner Woody Johnson hired The 33rd Team, a football media, analytics and
consulting group founded by former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, to assist them in
November. Tannenbaum and former Dolphins and Vikings GM Rick Spielman have been
helping Johnson identify and vet coach and GM candidates and coordinate
interviews.
The team will now turn its attention to bringing in a new front-office leader
to replace Joe Douglas, who was fired by the Jets with the team en route to a
disappointing 5-12 season. Saleh was fired after a 2-3 start and New York went
3-9 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, who was hired as Atlanta's defensive
coordinator.
The major tasks for Glenn and the eventual new GM will be trying to build a
roster that returns the Jets to the playoffs after a long absence and
determining whether the franchise will have quarterback Aaron Rodgers back next
season --- if he still wants to play --- and possibly beyond.
The 41-year-old four-time MVP, who's the fifth player in NFL history to throw
500 touchdown passes in the regular season, has one year of nonguaranteed money
left on his contract with the Jets.
New York also will have to make a decision on wide receiver Davante Adams,
who's scheduled to make $35.64 million in each of the next two years. The Jets
also have several key players scheduled to be free agents, including linebacker
Jamien Sherwood, cornerback D.J. Reed and tight end Tyler Conklin.
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