Over the past three days, the Detroit Lions have lost both their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator to head coaching jobs with other organizations.
The two coaches' departures have been received in very different ways.
Former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been met with a lot of negativity from fans for heading to the Chicago Bears, an NFC North rival of the Lions.
The players haven't had much to say about Johnson's decision outside of a David Montgomery Instagram post and Amon-Ra St. Brown's message to him.
Meanwhile, Aaron Glenn has gotten support from within the Lions organization after he took a job with the New York Jets.
One of the team's captain, Alex Anzalone, shared a message of support for Glenn on his Instagram (via mlive's Kory Woods).
"8 straight years together...bittersweet."
— Kory Woods (@KoryEWoods) January 22, 2025
Instant reaction from #Lions LB Alex Anzalone regarding the #Jets hiring Aaron Glenn as head coach.
Via Anzalone's Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/7WV6RCIxvR
Anzalone has been part of the same organization as Glenn for the entirety of his NFL career.
In 2017, he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints, where Glenn was already the team's defensive backs coach.
Four years later, Anzalone signed with the Lions just a couple of months after Glenn was hired to be their defensive coordinator.
Anzalone had the best years of his career over the following four seasons.
In 2022, he beat his career high with 125 tackles. He then beat that the following year with 129 total tackles and also set a career high with three sacks.
He has also seven tackles for loss in each of the last three seasons.
Anzalone isn't the only Lion who has voiced support for Glenn after he took the Jets job.
Rookie Terrion Arnold also posted a message of support for Glenn.
Couldn’t be happier for you coach thanks for everything u taught me in year 1💯 pic.twitter.com/5X0RnB8BOP
— Terrion Arnold (@ArnoldTerrion) January 22, 2025
Glenn will certainly be missed within the Lions' organization, but it's clear that he has the support of his former players as he moves on to his next challenge.
