To no surprise, Aaron Glenn is among the most popular candidates in this year’s head coaching cycle. With the top-seeded Lions on the bye this week, the team’s defensive coordinator was busy taking interviews with each of his numerous suitors. 
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Glenn spoke with five teams in recent days, taking every interview with an interested party except for the Patriots. New England has since become the first team to fill its HC vacancy, making the expected move of hiring Mike Vrabel. Now that the first domino has fallen, Glenn’s name in particular will be worth watching closely.
The 52-year-old “crushed” each of his interviews, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports (video link). As a result, Glenn could very well find himself involved in follow-up meetings with at least a few teams as their searches heat up. To no surprise, Jones notes the Jets and Saints remain potential landing spots provided Glenn does indeed land a head coaching position for the first time in his career.
During the course of his 15-year tenure as a player, Glenn spent eight seasons in New York. It was with the Jets that he earned two of his three Pro Bowl nods, and his success on the field (not to mention the degree to which his stock as a coaching candidate has increased in recent years) helped make him one of the team’s first recipients of an interview request. Indeed, ESPN’s Dan Graziano writes the three names mentioned most frequently in connection to the Jets are Glenn, Vrabel and Vikings DC Brian Flores.
Having moved on from Robert Saleh after three-plus seasons, the Jets are a candidate to change approaches on the sidelines by looking to a coach with an offensive background. Graziano’s colleague Rich Cimini notes some observers agree that is the route the team will take, although others point to Glenn as the “best fit” for their current vacancy. He has been an NFL staffer since 2014, including four years in his current post as the leader of Detroit’s defense.
Of course, Glenn’s first coordinator gig was preceded by a five-year run in the Saints’ organization. He worked as New Orleans’ defensive backs coach during that span, and a return to the city to replace Dennis Allen remains a possibility to watch for. A recent report suggest Glenn could be the leading candidate for the Saints, one of the teams which has kept an eye out for the potential of Mike McCarthy reaching the open market.
McCarthy and the Cowboys are negotiating a new deal, though, and it remains to be seen if his existing contract will expire without a new agreement being in place (or at least imminent). Provide McCarthy winds up being unavailable, the Saints could move quickly in arranging a second interview with Glenn. The Jets will also be worth watching on that front.