While a lot of attention has been on Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson in terms of his head-coaching candidacy after this season, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is also going to receive plenty of interest.
Glenn didn't have much success over his first few years on the job, but that has changed in 2024. After adding some talent to the secondary, the defense has improved by leaps and bounds and has strengthened Detroit's chances of accomplishing its goal of winning a Super Bowl.
Unfortunately for Detroit, that means Glenn is going to draw a ton of interest next year among teams looking for a head coach. One of those teams is the New Orleans Saints, where NFL analyst Chad Forbes predicts Glenn will end up.
The Saints finally made a move at head coach and fired Dennis Allen after a lackluster tenure that followed Sean Payton.
Glenn is already very familiar with New Orleans. He spent one season there during his playing career and served as defensive backs coach from 2016 to 2020. Making the Glenn to Saints connection is a logical one to make.
However, the Saints would not be a good situation for Glenn to step into. The team is sitting at 3-7 and is stuck with Derek Carr's massive contract for at least another year. In fact, he'll even cost New Orleans dead money after his contract runs out.
Making matters worse, the Saints desperately need a rebuild but have a horrific cap situation, with New Orleans projected to be an astounding $63.7 million over the cap in 2025.
For a rookie head coach, the Saints are the exact opposite situation one should want to step into. It's going to take years to turn that franchise around and that could ruin Glenn's first and perhaps only chance at a head-coaching gig.
