Dan Campbell: ‘Ridiculous’ if Aaron Glenn is not hired as a head coach

The 2025 NFL coaching cycle is in full swing as several new teams will be looking to fill vacancies at their head coaching positions over the next few weeks—which you can follow along with in our continually updating tracker.

At this time, six teams are searching for head coaches, and the Bears, Jaguars, Saints, and Jets have all requested to interview Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. At the time of this publishing, there has been no word from the Patriots, and the Raiders just fired their head coach in the last 24 hours.

This will mark the fourth offseason in a row where Glenn has drawn interest from multiple NFL organizations. In 2022, Glenn interviewed with the Broncos and Saints, then followed that up in 2023 by interviewing with the Colts and Cardinals, and in 2024, he met with the Commanders, Falcons, Chargers, and Titans.

Lions coach Dan Campbell believes every team with an opening should be interested in Glenn, a point he made clear during his bye week press conference on Tuesday.

“Aaron Glenn is as good a coach as you’re going to find, he’s an even better human being,” Campbell authentically shared. “Look, if nobody wants him, I’ll take him again. I can tell you that right now. The thought of going through another cycle and he’s not somebody’s head coach is ridiculous.

“I mean this guy is as good as they come, and he can do it all. He understands how to manage a game, he understands offense, defense, special teams, he knows how to communicate, he understands discipline of players and he’s motivating, he’s inspiring. Anyway, I don’t want to lose him, but I also root for the guy because I just think he’s a hell of a coach.”

Campbell would go on to gush over Glenn, as well as offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, sharing why he believes both are ready for the next step in their coaching careers, if they want to take it.

“Their work speaks for itself. It has nothing to do with me,” Campbell continued. “Both of those guys, they’re smart, they’re grinders, they’re strategic, they understand how to teach, communicate, motivate and so their work speaks for itself. Both of those guys are more than worthy of being head coaches, they’re ready, they ask the right questions. I’ve tried to give them everything I think they need to be head coaches and I believe that both of those guys are more than ready.”

Last season, both Glenn and Johnson were forced to prepare and conduct their initial interviews during their off-time, as they were also game-planning for the Wild Card round of the playoffs. But this year, with a first-round bye after acquiring the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the duo has more time to prepare for their interviews.

“Yeah, I think that helps. I think that’s actually better,” Campbell explained. “I mean, this time last year, they’re trying to do it, we didn’t have a bye or anything and so they’re trying to figure out ways to fit this in. And you’d love to have the opportunity to go to the next thing, but you also have an obligation with the team you’re with. That’s impossible, that’s an impossible task. Whereas this (time around), we put this game to bed, we have the players in today, we don’t know who we’re playing yet, it’s time to kind of rest, relax for now, a little bit of that focus for those guys can go to, ‘Okay, here’s the interviews that I’m getting ready for, let me look at their rosters, let me figure out what’s going on over at those other teams, who I can call, who I can’— I just think that it’s really good for everybody.”

With extra time to properly prepare, the full support of his head coach, and an intimate connection with two teams seeking new head coaches—in addition to coaching for the Saints, Glenn played for the Jets—Glenn has a real opportunity to take his career to the next level this offseason.