On Sunday night, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn all but cemented a head coaching job in this hiring cycle (if he wants to take one) with a game plan that stifled the Minnesota Vikings' offense and turned Sam Darnold into the version of himself that made him a draft bust.
With the Lions earning the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye with their 31-9 win over the Vikings, Glenn (and any other assistant coach who might be wanted to do so) can do virtual interviews for head coaching jobs this week (Wednesday through next Monday, Jan. 13). Teams with openings have to put in formal requests, and as openings are created on "Black Monday" they naturally do so with top candidates.
On Monday morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported three teams are expected to request interviews with Glenn. None of the three are surprising.
Jets, Bears and Saints all are expected to request HC interviews for Lions DC Aaron Glenn.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2025
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the Bears have requested interviews with Glenn and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Wasting no time: The #Bears have requested interviews with #Lions OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn for their head coaching job, per sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 6, 2025
Pelissero also reported the Jets have indeed put in a request to interview Glenn, as as long been expected.
The #Jets also put in a request to interview #Lions DC Aaron Glenn for their head coaching job, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 6, 2025
Aaron Glenn's interview docket is filling up quickly, just as expected
Just because a team asked to interview him for a head coaching job doesn't necessarily mean Glenn will take all of those interviews. But it's also unlikely he will turn down interview requests, especially from the two teams he has ties to from his days as a player and/or an assistant coach (the Jets and the Saints). There has been plenty of stuff out there regarding Glenn and what would be obvious interest from both of those teams. Multiple reports have tabbed Glenn as the favorite for the Saints' job, but there seems to be a huge red flag there that he may find out about when he interviews.
The number of requests to interview Glenn may very well correlate perfectly to the number of head coaching openings there are over the coming days. Conspiracy theorists may brush that off as teams doing what they have to check a box under the "Rooney Rule", but Glenn is a genuine top candidate in this hiring cycle and he should (and will) be treated as such by teams looking for a new head coach.