Aaron Glenn 'built to be a head coach,' says Lions' Alex Anzalone
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn stand for the national anthem before an NFL wild-card playoff game on Jan. 14, 2024, in Detroit. Credit: AP/Lauren Bacho
The Jets have handed over the keys to their football team to Aaron Glenn, believing he is the right leader to hold everyone accountable and finally change the culture. Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone has no doubt Glenn will accomplish that.
“That’s a done deal,” Anzalone told Newsday on Thursday. “That’s not even going to be a thing anymore.”
It’s been a thing for a long time with the Jets, who have missed the playoffs for 14 consecutive seasons. As their new head coach, it’s up to Glenn to change that.
Anzalone, who has spent his entire eight-year NFL career playing for Glenn, is confident that his “biggest mentor’’ will be successful. He saw firsthand the type of impact the former Lions defensive coordinator can have on players.
“He’s built to be a head coach,” Anzalone said.
Anzalone was the captain of Glenn’s defense the past four seasons. He began his career in 2017 with the Saints, for whom Glenn was the defensive backs coach. After Glenn left for Detroit in 2021, Anzalone signed with the Lions as a free agent.
Dallas Cowboys tight end Eric Bjornson misses the pass while being covered by the Jets' Aaron Glenn, left and Victor Green at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, on Dec. 19, 1999. Credit: AP/Donna McWilliam
They had a rough first year, but then the Lions took off. They had winning records the next three seasons, including a franchise-best 15-2 mark this year. Lions coach Dan Campbell gets most of the credit for the Lions’ turnaround, but Anzalone said Glenn and Campbell share some similarities.
“Everything that everyone talks about Dan as being a genuine person, true leader, a leader of men and all that, you could say the exact same things about AG,” Anzalone said. “He’s been as genuine as they come. He’s been that the whole ride and through the ups and downs.”
Anzalone, 30, described Glenn as “smart” and “a great teacher.”
When Glenn got the Jets’ job on Wednesday, Anzalone immediately posted a congratulatory and appreciative message on social media. It was a photo of Anzalone and Glenn and it said, “To the man who believed in me every step of the way.”
Glenn played cornerback for 15 seasons in the NFL, eight of them with the Jets. Anzalone said he relates well to players and that they respond to him.
“He holds people accountable,” Anzalone said. “He knows when to push people. He knows when to call people out, but he also knows when to uplift people. If he needs someone to produce, he’s going to say it. It’s going to be in a productive manner.
“He’s not one of those yell-at-you coaches, but he’s honest with you. That’s why he garners the respect of a team because he’ll tell you exactly how he thinks or what he needs from you. But at the same time, it comes from a place of love.”
Anzalone expects Glenn to bring a lot of the principles and what worked in Detroit to the Jets.
“It’s going to be a little different because it’s a different place, different personnel. At the same time, I think it’s going to be a lot of the same,” Anzalone said. “Our team gets the label of playing with attitude and physical and tough, kind of old-school mentality with a new-age philosophy. I think that’s how it’s going to be in New York.”
Victor Green, a former Jets safety from 1993-2001, said he hasn’t been this “stoked” about a Jets coach since they hired Rex Ryan in 2009.
Green and Glenn were teammates for eight seasons and roomed together on the road for four of them. Green knows the “mindset” and “tenacity” that Glenn has and that he’ll bring to the job to help change the Jets’ culture.
“He’s very mild, but he’s going to get his point across,” Green told Newsday. “He’s not going to back down to anybody or from anybody. He’s going to let you have it. You step on his toes a little bit, he may get a little feisty with you. That’s just who he is. It’s no disrespect on his part, but Aaron’s a fighter, man. He’s just going to be the type of coach I think this team needs.”
Green said some coaches — and he mentioned former Jets coach Robert Saleh — try to be everybody’s friend. Glenn won’t carry himself that way, according to Green.
“You can be a player’s coach, but you got to know who’s steering the ship,” Green said. “And they’re going to know that with AG.”
Green believes Glenn’s career path has prepared him to be a head coach. He started as a player, became a scout and played or worked for the likes of Bill Parcells, Sean Payton and Campbell.
Under Glenn, Green said the Jets will play “fast” and be prepared and be a playoff team.
“He’s going to get these guys right fundamentally from the bottom up and he’s going to make sure every screw is tightened by the time they play the first game,” Green said. “I expect them to do really well. I’m going to put them right now as a playoff team in his first year. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
