Say what we will about his scheme choices sometimes, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is an absolute future head coach candidate and players love playing for him. Being a former player himself, and darn good cornerback when he played, surely drives some of that player buy-in.
The NFLPA started doing report card surveying last year, asking players to rank ownership, practice facilities, etc. This year the survey was shifted to include other things that matter to players, like evaluating the coordinators they work with on a daily basis.
The full results of the survey will be released on late-February or early March, like last year. But the union wanted to release the lists of the top five coordinators now, with the idea of generating positive attention to those who will be candidates in the upcoming head coach hiring cycle.
"We hope it will help these really qualified leaders get the chance to move on in the next cycle and have a chance to become head coaches," NFLPA president J.C. Tretter said to ESPN.
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn ranked as No. 1 coordinator in NFLPA survey
More than 1,700 players responded to their survey, ranking their coordinator by the side of the ball they play with overlap for those who play special teams. Specifically, 864 offensive players, 774 defensive players and 1,025 special teamers responded to the survey to rank their respective coordinators.
Glenn came in as the No. 1-ranked defensive coordinator, with Tretter adding a layer when he spoke to ESPN.
"Tretter said Glenn, who has not yet had the chance to be a head coach but tops the defensive list ahead of four guys who have, was the No. 1-overall-rated coordinator in the survey across all three categories."
As NFL Network's Tom Pelissero added, players were asked to rate their coordinators on a 1-10 scale.
As the hiring cycle approaches, this is interesting: The NFL Players Association asked over 1,700 players to rate the coordinators they play for on a scale of 1-10.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 4, 2024
Here are the top five at each spot, including the No. 1 overall vote-getter: #Lions DC Aaron Glenn. pic.twitter.com/1RuFpXXawc
Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp came in at No. 4 among his peers, while offensive coordinator Ben Johnson did not land in the top-five among his peers.
Glenn will surely get multiple head coaching interviews again after this season, as he has after each of his previous two seasons as Detroit's defensive coordinator. One of these years he will get a job, and if this player survey holds any water the chance it's this year just got better.