Aaron Glenn: 'We Don’t Need a Lot of Thinking Out There'

Read more on how new defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn plans to turn around the Detroit Lions defense.

Despite being among the worst defenses ever assembled in franchise history, new defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is determined to utilize and enhance the skills of the players on the Detroit Lions roster. 

Speaking to the Detroit media for the first time, Glenn reiterated what head coach Dan Campbell has noticed on film -- a collection of players playing timid and appearing to play without the confidence needed to be successful. 

“We have to change that narrative of the players, of their thinking, so they can go out and play with confidence and get ’em to play fast. What we’re gonna do as a staff is make sure that happens," Glenn said.
"That’s our No. 1 job, right? Get the players playing fast, get ’em confident, and let those guys let it loose. We don’t need a lot of thinking out there.”

Despite their struggles collectively, Detroit still does possess a group of players in the secondary that can grow together to aid Detroit's front end. 

The idea of coaching cornerback's Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye and safeties Tracy Walker and Will Harris has Glenn excited for their future development.

"I see athletes. And when you have a group of athletes, you coach them, exactly tell them what they have to do and you get a chance to see a secondary that’s going to make plays for you. It kind of reminds me of my (second) year in New Orleans when I had a young secondary with Marshon Lattimore, Vonn Bell, Marcus Williams," Glenn explained. "All those young guys. You get to grow these guys as pups. I’m excited about that."

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Recall, former head coach Matt Patricia admitted last season he was required to scale back the amount of information he was providing players in order to improve their performance collectively. 

Detroit's new approach should at least provide the players a system they can learn quickly and utilize out on the football field in order to make plays.

“You look at the tape, you see guys in stacks and in bunches, and they don’t know what to do. We want to make sure that’s not happening with our guys. … When you’re not confused, you’re able to play fast," Glenn said. "You know what you’re doing and then you can go make plays. We want these guys to do that as much as they can. I’m not saying we’re gonna be simple to where we’re a target. But we’re gonna be simple enough for our guys to know exactly what they’re doing.”

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