Aaron Glenn Is the Best Coordinator in the NFL and It’s Not Even Close

The Lions are missing Aidan Hutchinson, Alex Anzalone, both starting cornerbacks at various points, plus a pile of depth pieces — and Aaron Glenn still has Detroit running a top-five defense. Ten straight quarters without allowing a touchdown. This man is coaching his face off.

Stop what you’re doing and give Aaron Glenn his flowers. Right now.

The Lions defensive coordinator is flat-out the best coordinator in the NFL, and honestly? People still aren’t talking about it enough. Even with all the praise coming his way, even with the national recognition slowly trickling in, AG deserves more. Way more.

The Numbers Are Absurd

Let’s just run through what Glenn is working with — or more accurately, what he’s NOT working with.

Aidan Hutchinson, the best player on the defense and arguably the best defensive player in the league before he went down? Gone. Alex Anzalone, the defensive captain and emotional leader? Out. Both starting cornerbacks have missed time. Derek Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, all the depth pieces that usually step up in moments like this? Banged up or unavailable.

And yet.

The Lions still have a top-five defense in the NFL. They’ve gone three straight halves — ten consecutive quarters — without allowing a single touchdown. That’s not a typo. Ten quarters. Zero touchdowns allowed.

Find me another coordinator doing that with a skeleton crew.

This Is Elite-Level Coaching

What Glenn is doing right now should be studied. The NFL is an offensive league. Everybody wants pretty quarterbacks and highlight-reel touchdowns — Chris Spielman was talking about this shift 30 years ago and we’re living it in full force now. Defenses are supposed to be an afterthought, a speed bump on the way to 40-point shootouts.

Glenn didn’t get that memo.

He’s scheming guys open. He’s putting his remaining players in positions to succeed. He’s coaching up backups and practice squad guys to play like starters. Every single week, another name goes down, and every single week, the defense keeps humming.

That’s not luck. That’s not talent. That’s coaching at the highest possible level.

Give This Man His Respect

Here’s the thing that should frustrate every Lions fan: if Glenn was doing this for the Cowboys or the Chiefs or any big-market darling, ESPN would be running wall-to-wall segments about his genius. He’d be the favorite for every head coaching job in the offseason. His name would be everywhere.

Instead, because it’s Detroit, the recognition comes slower. The narrative takes longer to build. People are “slowly” getting it, as if they needed to be convinced that a coordinator running a top-five defense with half his roster on IR might actually be good at his job.

Enough. Aaron Glenn is the best coordinator in the NFL right now. Not one of the best. THE best. And when he inevitably gets a head coaching job — because he will — Detroit better appreciate what they had while they had it.

The Takeaways

• Glenn has the Lions defense humming despite losing Hutchinson, Anzalone, both starting corners, and multiple depth pieces to injury
• Ten straight quarters without allowing a touchdown — elite production with a decimated roster
• He’s the best coordinator in the NFL and still isn’t getting enough national recognition for it

Watch the full segment on YouTube: Aaron Glenn is the BEST coordinator in the NFL!