Aaron Devone Glenn (born July 16, 1972) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

coach and former

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He previously served as the defensive backs coach for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

from 2016 to 2020 and also served as an assistant coach for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. Glenn played 15 seasons in the NFL. During his playing time, Glenn played for the New York Jets, Houston Texans,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and

. He played college football for

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

Early years

Glenn was born in

Humble, Texas Humble ( ) is a city located in the Greater Houston, Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an Boomtown, oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Aaron Glenn
Retrieved February 11, 2012. He played youth football in the Humble Area Football League. He attended Nimitz High School in Houston, Texas,databaseFootball.com, Players
Aaron Glenn
. Retrieved February 11, 2012. where he was a four-year letterman for the Nimitz Cougars

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

team. As a senior, he posted over 1,000 rushing yards, over 200 receiving yards and 7 interceptions. He also lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and track

Playing career

College

Glenn originally signed his letter of intent to play college football for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...

in 1990. Glenn first attended Navarro College in

Corsicana, Texas Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busin ...

, where as a sophomore, he won all-conference and junior college All-America honors, after posting two interceptions, 60 tackles, and 15 pass deflections. Glenn then transferred to Texas A&M University, where he played for the

Texas A&M Aggies football The Texas A&M Aggies football program represents Texas A&M University in the sport of American football. The Aggies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Divis ...

team in 1992 and 1993. As a junior in 1992, he was the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

(SWC) Newcomer of the Year and a first-team All-Southwest Conference selection. As a senior in 1993, he registered 27 tackles, 13 passes defensed and led the nation with a 19.2-yard punt return average, while receiving first-team All-SWC and a consensus first-team All-American honors. In 2000, he was inducted into the Texas A&M Sports Hall of Fame.

National Football League

New York Jets

Glenn was selected by the New York Jets in the first round (12th overall) of the

1994 NFL Draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott ...

. He played his first eight seasons in the NFL with the Jets, from to .Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Aaron Glenn
Retrieved February 11, 2012. In 1996, Glenn set the team record for longest interception return with a 100-yard touchdown against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

. In 2001, he started 12 games, missing 3 contests with a sprained knee. He had 39 tackles and 12 passes defensed (second on the team).

Houston Texans

Glenn was acquired by the Houston Texans through the

2002 NFL Expansion Draft The 2002 National Football League expansion draft is the most recent National Football League (NFL) draft in which a new expansion team, named the Houston Texans, selected its first players. On October 6, 1999, in Atlanta, NFL owners had unanimo ...

. He started 16 games at left cornerback, registering 75 tackles, 5 interceptions, 16 passes defensed and one sack. He and teammate Gary Walker became the first Texans to reach the NFL Pro Bowl in 2002. In 2003, he started 11 games and was declared inactive in 2 because of injury, before being placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

for the final 3 contests. He finished with 29 tackles, one interception and 16 passes defensed. The next year, he started 16 games, making 5 interceptions and 14 passes defensed. He was released because of salary cap reasons on April 26, 2005.

Dallas Cowboys

Glenn signed with the

before the 2005 season reuniting him with

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

, who was his head coach with the New York Jets. Coming in as a 33 year old

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, he surprised observers with his high level of play. Although he was projected to be involved only on the nickel defense, he started 7 games in place of an injured Anthony Henry and recorded 4 interceptions (led the team). The next year, he played in 16 games (1 start) and was used mostly on the nickel defense, registering 20 tackles with one interception. In 2007,

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL (2020), XFL. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys. He ha ...

was hired as the new head coach and released Glenn on September 1.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 3, 2007, he signed with the

. He played in 5 games (4 starts) and was declared inactive for 11 regular season games and 2 playoff games.

New Orleans Saints

Glenn signed as a

with the

on April 7, 2008. He injured his ankle during the second game of the season, which limited his playing time until being placed on the

on November 27.

Retirement

After five seasons away from the Texans, on July 28, 2010, Glenn signed a one-day contract so he could retire as a Texan.

NFL career statistics

Coaching career

Houston Stallions

Starting in 2012, Glenn held the position of general manager with the

Houston Stallions The Houston Stallions were a professional indoor football team that competed in the Lone Star Football League (LSFL). Based in Houston, Texas, the Stallions played their home games at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. 2011 inaugural season ...

of the Texas Lone Star Football League, an indoor league comprising exclusively teams from Texas.

New York Jets

In June 2012, Glenn was hired by the New York Jets, his former team, as a personnel scout.

Cleveland Browns

On May 18, 2014, Glenn was named the assistant defensive backs coach for the

New Orleans Saints

On January 13, 2016, Glenn was hired by the

as their secondary coach.

Detroit Lions

On January 23, 2021, Glenn was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator under head coach

Dan Campbell Daniel Allen Campbell (born April 13, 1976), nicknamed "Motor City Dan Campbell", or "MCDC" for short, is an American football coach and a former tight end who is the head coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He pr ...

References

External links

Detroit Lions profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenn, Aaron 1972 births Living people African-American players of American football All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football cornerbacks American football safeties Cleveland Browns coaches Dallas Cowboys players Houston Texans players Jacksonville Jaguars players Navarro Bulldogs football players New Orleans Saints coaches New Orleans Saints players New York Jets players People from Humble, Texas Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas Texas A&M Aggies football players Detroit Lions coaches National Football League defensive coordinators 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Ed Block Courage Award recipients