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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

who is the

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for the

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of the

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(NFL). He previously served as the

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

for the

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from 2021 to 2024, 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

from 2016 to 2020, and as an assistant coach for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

from 2014 to 2015. Glenn played 15 seasons in the NFL. During his playing time, Glenn played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

and

. He played

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for the

Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...

. His younger brother Jason Glenn played in the NFL from 2001 to 2006.

Early life

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 Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved February 11, 2012. where he was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the Nimitz Cougars

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and track.

Playing career

College

Glenn originally signed his letter of intent to play

for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

in 1990. Glenn first attended Navarro College in

Corsicana, Texas Corsicana is a city in and the county seat of Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 50 miles southeast of Dallas, Texas, Dallas. Its population was 25,109 at the 2020 census. Corsicana is considered an important ...

, 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 Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, where he played for the Aggies 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 also included schools from Oklaho ...

(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 The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. In 2000, he was inducted into the Texas A&M Sports Hall of Fame.

National Football League

New York Jets

The

selected Glenn 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 Ma ...

. He played his first eight seasons in the NFL with the Jets, from to . 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. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

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

Houston Texans

The

selected Glenn through the 2002 NFL expansion draft. 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 player 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 t ...

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 came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

, who was his head coach with the

. Coming in as a 33 year old

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

, 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 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 five games (four starts) and was declared inactive for eleven regular season games and two 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 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

, 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) is an American professional football coach and former tight end who is the head coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for 11 seasons. Campb ...

. On February 24, 2023, Glenn signed a multi–year contract extension with the Lions.

New York Jets

On January 22, 2025, Glenn was hired as the head coach of the

Head coaching record

Personal life

Glenn has been married to his college sweetheart Devaney Glenn since 1994. They have three children, two daughters and a son.

References

External links

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