ESPN’s NFL insider believes the Detroit Lions will lose both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to head coaching jobs this year.
This season, seven teams opted to move on from their head coach: the Jets, Saints, Jaguars, Bears, Raiders, Patriots, and Cowboys. Of those seven jobs, six remain open (the Patriots hired Mike Vrabel) and Detroit Lions coordinators are candidates for at least five of those.
As a result, ESPN NFL insider believes that offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will both end up landing head coaching jobs this cycle.
“Aaron Glenn is going to get a job in this cycle, Ben Johnson is going to get a job in this cycle, and I think that there’s every possibility—and probably likelihood—that the Lions are going to be losing both of their coordinators in this cycle,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. “I’d be really surprised if both of them didn’t come out of this with head coaching jobs.”
While this sounds like speculation, it does seem that things are trending in that direction for both Lions coordinators. Glenn—who has interviewed with the Jets, Saints, Jaguars, Bears, and Raiders—has drawn heavy connections to the Saints and Jets jobs, given he has history with both franchises.
“I think Aaron Glenn is somebody who is already getting lots of attention from the Jets, a lot of attention in New Orleans,” Schefter said. “And like I said, it would be a major upset to me if he didn’t come out of this with a job.”
Meanwhile, it has become clear that the Raiders and Bears are/were both infatuated with Johnson, who has interviewed with the Raiders, Bears, Jaguars, and Patriots. The latest news suggests that Tom Brady is making a full-court press to get Johnson in Las Vegas.
Last year, Johnson was one of the hottest names available in the coaching cycle, and, at times, it looked like he was certainly going to find a job. So while Schefter’s word carries a lot of weight when it comes to insider information, nothing is a done deal yet.
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