The Detroit Lions' season is now over, so focus shifts to the offseason. First up is the coaching carousel, and where defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson might land a head coachhing job. Saturday night's showing should not diminish either as a top candidate.
During his appearance on Friday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show", ESPN's Adam Schefter dismissed the Dallas Cowboys as having any interest in Johnson. Being available to interview in-person sooner than expected could change that equation, but it's also fair to say Dallas is not the most desirable job opening.
Glenn interviewed for five of the six head coaching openings that existed during the Lions' first round bye. He may be making it six interviews soon, now that he's free to do so.
Reports: Aaron Glenn in the mix for the Cowboys' head coaching job
On "SportsCenter" Saturday morning, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the Cowboys are "intrigued" by Glenn.
“I was also told that they’re intrigued by Aaron Glenn,” Fowler said, while adding “they would like to speak with him.”
Later on Saturday, again before he was available to do an in-person interview (now as soon as Monday) ,Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports reported Glenn as a "name to watch closely" in the Cowboys' coaching search.
Per Schultz: "One league source mentioned Jerry Jones holding him in especially high regard. Glenn, who starred at Texas A&M, not only played in Dallas, but is from Houston as well."
Glenn has a tie to the Cowboys, having played two seasons for them (2005 and 2006). And as Schultz noted, he played collegiately at Texas A&M and is from the Houston area. So there could be some appeal in returning to his home state, such as that may even tip the scales for the head coaching job he takes (it truly shouldn't).
Of course the counter-argument to Glenn having ties to the Cowboys is that he has deeper ties to the two teams seen as the front runners to hire him-the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints. If we were to rank the available job openings according to how they should/might appeal to Glenn, the Cowboys and Saints have strong cases to bring up the rear. For better or worse, Glenn appears to have great affinity for the Jets' job.
Glenn still feels likely to leave the Lions for a head coaching job before this hiring cycle is complete. The Cowboys have now entered as a realistic possibility, assuming he takes a presumed to be coming interview request.