Aaron Glenn Highest-Rated Coordinator in NFL

Aaron Glenn is a popular coordinator among players.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was the top-rated NFL defensive coordinator, according to a recent survey among players.

The NFL Players Association acquired over 1,700 ratings, examining how players felt about the coordinators they play for on a scale of 1-10. 

Detroit's third-year defensive coordinator is quite popular among the Lions' defensive roster. His no-nonsense, but caring approach makes him quite easy to play for and respect. 

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson views Glenn like a parental figure, and his ability to turn around Detroit's defense in a short period of time has been stellar. 

Detroit's defense was ranked near the bottom of the league in 2022, but has made significant strides in nearly all defensive metrics in 2023.

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson interestingly was not rated in the top five among players. 

Johnson noted a couple of weeks ago that Glenn should be asked about becoming a future head coach. He has regularly been asked about his coaching future, due to the success of the Lions' offense. 

"He’s a guy that we should be asking about head coaching. That guy, what he’s done, he’s phenomenal. He’s going to be a phenomenal head football coach when he gets the opportunity to do that," Johnson said of his coordinator counterpart. "And, I think when you bring those types of questions up, you need to make sure you’re asking them to him as well. But, the focus right now is on the Minnesota Vikings. 

"That’s all we care about, and like I said before, we are obligated to each other to keep our focus on the main thing.”

Dave Fipp, meanwhile, was voted as the No. 4-ranked special teams coordinator. 

As the hiring cycle approaches, this is interesting: The NFL Players Association asked over 1,700 players to rate the coordinators they play for on a scale of 1-10.

Here are the top five at each spot, including the No. 1 overall vote-getter: #Lions DC Aaron Glenn. pic.twitter.com/1RuFpXXawc

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 4, 2024