Dan Campbell Can't Stop Gushing Over Aaron Glenn, Jets

It is natural for assistants behind successful head coaches want to get their chance for the top job themselves. Some, like Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells, ended up having a heated rivalry of their own for years.

The same cannot be said for New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn. And as he prepares for his return to Detroit (where he spent three years as the team's defensive coordinator), his relationship with Lions head coach Dan Campbell has been the talk of the town.

And if it was up to Campbell, he would never have given up Glenn if he had a chance.

Campbell gushes over Jets coach

The relationship between Glenn and Campbell has been well documented. New York's head coach has credited the Lions head coach for being both a mentor and a friend. Remember, both Glenn and Campbell had worked together in New Orleans before Campbell took the top job in Detroit.

They have known each other for a long time and they loved working together.

So much so that, when speaking to reporters on Friday, Campbell shared his best and worst day of his coaching tenure. And it had nothing to do with his loss in the NFC Championship game.

“AG means the world to me. He’s one of my dearest friends because I know what he’s made of,” Campbell said. “One of the greatest days of my life was him getting that job, and one of the worst days of my life was him getting that job. Because you’re losing a little piece of you. That’s what he meant to me, and to us.”

Detroit's defense improved to a fearsome group under Glenn during his three years with the organization. Their best year came in 2024 when they finished seventh-best in the league in points allowed while leading the team to 15 wins.

The Lions may have been known for their offense, but they won many games during that stretch because their defense was far better than anyone gives them credit for.

For his part, Glenn has been just as appreciative of his time with Campbell.

"That friendship will always last," Glenn said. "I felt honored for him to be able to come to me and ask me to be his coordinator. And when he got the job, I was the first guy he hired and it took, I don't know, maybe a week before we hired anybody else, and we just sat in my office, and we talked football, and how we were going to change this program around."

When the two teams face-off on Sunday, the well wishes will have to be put aside. New York and Detroit can not afford to fall to 1-2 for their own respective reasons.

But while Jets fans continue to openly criticize whether Glenn can be a good coach or not, his mentor and friend believes otherwise.

It will be up to Glenn to prove him right by pulling off an upset on Sunday.

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