Aaron Glenn helped put together one of the league’s most dangerous defenses while he was the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions.
His next task is tearing down one of the league’s most dysfunctional offenses — starting with firing former league MVP Aaron Rodgers.
Glenn left the Lions this offseason to become head coach of the New York Jets, inheriting a team in disarray after two shaky seasons with Rodgers at the helm. The team decided to part ways with Rodgers earlier this offseason, and the quarterback revealed this week that it came after an abrupt meeting with Glenn.
Aaron Rodgers Says Former Lions Coach Went ‘Rogue’
Rodgers stirred controversy this week in an appearance on Pat McAfee Show, claiming Glenn went “rogue” in a tense meeting earlier this offseason. Rodgers said he believed the team was ready to have a constructive talk on his future in New York, but Glenn was instead dead-set on firing Rodgers and moving on.
“I figured that when I flew across the country on my own dime that there was going to be a conversation,” Rodgers said. “And the confusing thing to me and the strange thing was, when I went out there, I meet with the coach … We start talking and he runs out of the room … Then he comes back with the GM. … So we sit down in the office. And I think we’re gonna have this long conversation.”
It wasn’t long at all, Rodgers revealed. In less than a minute, Glenn told Rodgers that he was done in New York.
“And 20 seconds in, he goes — I’m talking to the GM about something, and he leans to the edge of his seat and goes, ‘Are you sure you wanna play football?’ And I go, ‘Yeah, I’m interested.’ And he says, ‘We’re going in a different direction at quarterback.’ ”
The Jets hoped Rodgers would turn them into Super Bowl contenders, but he suffered a season-ending torn Achilles just a few plays into the 2023 season and struggled to turn around the offense last year.
Though Rodgers himself had a strong season in 2024 — completing 63% of his passes for 3,897 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions — the team’s offense struggled throughout the season as they fell to a 5-12 record.
Aaron Glenn Worried About Locker Room Distractions
Rodgers said that Glenn voiced concern about the quarterback causing a rift in the locker room, a point that Rodgers contested.
“He said, ‘I don’t wanna be up in front of the room, saying something, and have guys looking back at you,’” Rodgers said. “And I said, ‘What does that even mean? Are you assuming that I would be in the back of the room during the team meeting, undermining what you’re saying?’ I said, ‘You don’t know me.’ And he said, ‘You don’t know me.’ ”
The conversation may not come as a surprise to Lions fans, who knew Glenn as a tough and no-nonsense coach who built up what had been a league-worst defense in Detroit into an essential part of a Super Bowl contender.
Glenn’s decision has earned some praise, with some commentators noting that Rodgers’ decision to spill details of the closed-door meeting is evidence that he very well could have been a distraction to the Jets.