The Detroit Lions have been hit hard by injuries on their defense, and hard probably isn't a big enough word, but Aaron Glenn has been able to coax suitable performance out of his unit anyway. Allowing 31 points in three of four games from Week 13-17 had people questioning if the defense would be what kept the Lions from going to the Super Bowl.
The return of linebacker Alex Anzalone after missing six games due to a fractured forearm was incredibly helpful, and cornerback Amik Robertson shut down Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson on Sunday night. But it was Glenn's game plan against quarterback Sam Darnold that was particularly effective.
Darnold was off-kilter all night, sailing throws high of his target and looking generally uncomfortable on his way to going 18-for-41 for 166 yards. The Lions sacked Darnold twice, and hit him 10 times.
Aaron Glenn fully earned a head coaching job after dismantling the Vikings' offense
Glenn favors playing man coverage anyway, and he went all-in on it Sunday night.
The Lions defense played man coverage on 66.7% of dropbacks, the 2nd-highest rate by a defense in a game this season.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 6, 2025
Darnold finished 10 of 28 for 125 yards against man (-20.1% CPOE), while completing only 1 of 9 attempts on dropbacks over four seconds.
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Next Gen Stats also revealed the Lions blitzed Darnold 55.6 percent of the time on Sunday night, while going "Cover 0" 14 times and allowing five completions on those dropbacks.
The Vikings entered Week 18 averaging 352.3 offensive yards and 26.4 points per game. They scored nine points and 262 total yards on Sunday night, going 0-for-4 with two field goals in the red zone and 3-for-13 on third down. Take out a 58-yard run by running back Cam Akers, and that yardage total would have been even worse.
Alongside Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Glenn is a top head coaching candidate in the hiring cycle that will start in earnest this week. It's not an aggressive take to suggest Glenn is more likely than Johnson to leave the Lions for a head coaching job after their season is over, and more broadly that he'll be the first of the two coordinators to leave for a head coaching job.
There has been plenty out there regarding two teams with head coaching openings having Glenn high on their list of candidates, but he will have as full an interview schedule as he wants and more teams looking for a new coach will want to talk to him.
His head coaching resume didn't need much of a boost. But the master class Glenn put out there on Sunday night to shut down Minnesota's offense, and make Darnold look like the Jets' version of himself, certainly did it.