Getty Aaron Glenn coaching for the Lions in a 2021 preseason game.
The week after the Detroit Lions allowed 48 points and lost in spite of scoring 45 themselves, there’s not going to be a lot of patience and calm, especially with Aaron Glenn.
Glenn has been called out repeatedly for his work this week, and many now think he should be on the hot seat for the team. Former Detroit wideout Herman Moore, however, has other ideas.
In the wake of the frustrating loss in which plenty of folks had major opinions, Moore is calling for patience and calm. As he said, there’s still a long season left to go and more games for the team to try and right the ship on that side of the ball.
As a result of that, Moore doesn’t think many should be so quick to judge Glenn harshly.
My opinion – everyone needs to just stop calling for Aaron Glenn’s head, stop pulling everything apart and stop saying the season’s over.
As always, I welcome opposing viewpoints.
“My opinion – everyone needs to just stop calling for Aaron Glenn’s head, stop pulling everything apart and stop saying the season’s over. As always, I welcome opposing viewpoints,” he tweeted.
Within the clip, Moore was even more direct on what he means specifically.
“Everybody just stop it. The Aaron Glenn stuff. Stop it with pulling stuff apart. Stop it with the fact that the season’s already over. There’s a lot of work left to be done, but more games to be played,” Moore reminded.
Clearly, Moore wants to see the fanbase rally behind the team to see what they can do the rest of the season instead of giving up. That might not be a bad idea, given there are still plenty of games left to go the rest of the way.
Dan Campbell Gave Glenn Vote of Confidence
Speaking after the 48-45 loss, Campbell was asked about the defense’s inability to improve and specifically Glenn. As he said, he’s not pushing the panic button on Glenn, whom he considers a good coach, nor the team.
“I’m going to sit down with (Aaron Glenn). AG is a damn good coach and this is the same thing I told the team. The worst thing we can do is start pointing fingers at each other. ‘You did this, we didn’t do this.’ We can’t do that man. We can’t let anybody pull us apart because as dismal as it is right now, we’re not as far away as it feels but until we do something about it and quit talking about it, doesn’t matter. We can say we’re going to be better but until we actually do it and make a commitment and we got to coach better and they got to take it on their shoulders. They need some accountability and our captains and our vets, they need to say enough’s enough and what are they going to do about it? What are we going to do about it? I mean we’re all in this same boat together and we got to clean it up but I know this, we can’t go in panic mode because it’s the worst thing you can do.”
Specifically, Campbell said he has to get a lot more hands-on with Glenn to try and figure out some of the problems, even as he trusts the assistants as well as Glenn himself to get the job done.
“I got a lot of faith in Aaron Glenn. I got a ton of faith in those assistants and I think it’s just, we sit down and we look at everything together,” Campbell said. “Because really, I think more than anything maybe, it’s time for deep dive. A real deep dive into it. Players, everything that we’re doing but I also trust what he’s doing and there’s a reason why I hired him. So I want to let him do his job but certainly, I gotta look a lot deeper than I have.”
A deep dive from the head man is needed, and that may involve working with Glenn to find fixes. It’s clear the Lions have a lot of work to do, but anyone looking for a knee-jerk reaction from Campbell on Glenn was likely disappointed.
Detroit Defense Has Time for Turnaround
If there’s one thing Moore is right about, it’s that the Lions will have plenty of time to find fixes and make improvements.
Detroit has only played four games, and while their defense has some ugly numbers, there will be a chance for those numbers to improve. The Lions can find a way to tighten up the scheme and get marginally better, it might help their team improve overall.
Another variable to remember? The Lions have multiple injured players on defense, and will have a chance to clean that up as folks return after the bye week. The Lions could be seeing the likes of cornerback Jerry Jacobs, defensive lineman Josh Paschal, edge Romeo Okwara and others return soon enough to provide reinforcements.
While the numbers and optics aren’t great, the Lions aren’t likely to fire Glenn midseason anyway. All folks can do is sit back, be patient and see if the team can find a way to improve under his tutelage the rest of 2022.