LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AARON GLENN QUOTE SHEET

January 11, 2024

Opening Statement: “Really good way to end a season last week, beating a really good team. Coming out, hopefully guys that are nicked up will be ready to go, so man we’re looking forward to this, we’re looking forward to it. It’s new to some guys, but it’s a walk in the park for other guys that have been there, so our guys – our young guys are leaning on that, leaning on the older guys that have been there. And again, like I said, we’re looking forward to it.”

On how it feels to have multiple teams request him for head coach interviews and be acknowledged: “Well, listen, I’m flattered by the interview requests, I really am. And man, I do not want this to sound like coach-speak, but I try to focus on the main thing for this team, for this organization, because this is a big deal for us. And to be able to go out there and beat this team, which is a good team, is huge. So, I will be honest – I’m going to be honest with you, man I’m really, really focused on how we’re going to play defensively against this team and then, as a whole, alright, as an overall team, how do we make sure we complement each other and go out there and try to win this game. Because we’re in the tournament and we all know it. It doesn’t matter. Just get in the tournament. We’re at where we’re at. I’ve always learned that under (former Cowboys Head Coach) Bill Parcells, just in the freaking tournament and anything can happen after that. We’re in it and we’re ready to go.”

On if he will take all four of his interview requests: “Will I take them all? I mean, yeah.”

On the biggest thing he learned about being a head coach from Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell: “The number one thing I think is important is, man just the collaboration with the GM and the owner. And making sure that, that vision, that collective vision is the same because once that’s intact and you keep – all three of you guys, or women, are saying the same thing, that feeds down to the staff, then that feeds down to the players. And man, they just hear the same vision over and over again and you talk about coach. A coach is about people, and you bring the right people in, you’re going to have the right culture.”

On the challenges a young defense faces when competing against offenses who use turbo-motion: “The communication, first and foremost, and exactly how do you want to handle those turbos. And everybody handles them different. And we actually handle those by week because we want to make sure we put ourselves in the best position on how to handle those. But what they do a really good job of, they use that to protect the edge of the defense for the most part. So, any type of edge pressure either slows you down, or they’re going to end up blocking you for the most part. So, we have to be smart in exactly how we operate and how we attack this team. And also, they condense you to get you out – to get out in the perimeter also. So, once they condense you, then they condense, then you condense and then they just create space. In the passing game for deep-overs and in the run game for any type of toss plays. So, we have to understand that, first and foremost, and understand how we’re going to attack that and be good and be effective in what we do.”

On what Rams RB Kyren Williams brings to the Rams offense and his ability to run the football and execute play-action off his run game: “Well, for him himself, I actually showed couple of clips to all the defense. Even though he’s a guy that’s – some people say smaller stature, he’s not just a small guy. He does a really good job of breaking tackles. That’s why we have to be the best tackling team throughout these playoffs, because of that. Every team that you’re playing is a team that does a really good job of breaking tackles. But this team in particular, with the receivers and with the running back, that we’ve got to do a good job of. So, he’s tough. He’s powerful. He has this stiff arm that’s effective and we’ve got to understand that. So, we have to make sure that we wrap up and have population to the ball with this player.”

On how the Rams offense has evolved throughout the season with the consistency of Rams WR Puka Nacua alongside Rams WR Cooper Kupp: “Well, they have two good players. And when you’re a good player, you don’t really see the drop off as much. So, he’s here to stay and we have to deal with him, which we will, alright with all those guys. And that’s just what it is. Listen, we’ve played against good players throughout this season. It’s no different than these guys, so we’re going to attack him the way we attack him and we’ll let the chips fall where they may.”

On if the number of snaps Lions DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson took against the Vikings is because they were trying to break him in after injury or if it will be the number of snaps he will play going forward: “Well, it’s probably a lot of snaps for him, but he was ready to play. And I think, between all three of our safeties, all averaged around that 47 plays, which is, I think, is a really good deal to have good players in the game. So, listen, we have wrinkles for all those guys and you’ll see how it all plays out.”

On how much his coaching style has grown over the past two years: “Listen, I – I feel like I grow every year in different aspects of just the NFL in general. Number one, as a play-caller, number two, of understanding the big picture from, not just a coordinator perspective, but from a head coach. And (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) does a really good job of filling me in and allowing me to (give) my thoughts to him on different situations that are happening and how would I handle it. So, just hats off to him. And it’s a reason why, that you have a coaching staff like we do. With even our younger guys are ascending because of the way that he operates. And a lot of that comes from how (Broncos Head) Coach (Sean) Payton used to handle us back in New Orleans. So, man, there are a lot of different ways that I’ve grown and it’s too much to actually sit here and talk about, but understanding how to collaborate with the GM, understanding how to speak with your owner and more or less, understanding how to relate with your players, which is not an issue for me at all, because I’m just going to be myself. And I think that’s one thing that the players see is listen, I’m no fake. And the thing that players do, they can point out a fake and there’s nothing fake about me.”

On what he has to see in Lions LB James Houston to feel confident that he is ready to come back from his injury: “Practice. That’s it, go out and practice and see how effective you can be. If you’re effective, then we’ll put you in there and let you play.”

On how he feels they have handled tackling throughout the season: “Listen, I think we’ve been a pretty good tackling team, for the most part. But when you see teams like – when you see players like, (Rams WR) Puka (Nacua), you see players like, (Rams RB Kyren) Williams, man we just have to emphasize that and let it be known. Because sometimes, when you don’t really just think about it for the most part because you’re really – you’re pretty good at it, sometimes that can be – it can slip away. Alright, so I want to make sure that’s emphasized and show these clips. Listen, look at these guys now. Just because he's a smaller-stature guy, man he has a strong lower body, same thing with Puka, a strong lower body. And everybody that I’ve talked to, that’s the number one thing that they say is, ‘Man don’t be surprised by the way that these guys break tackles.’ And it shows up on tape.”

On how important it is that the linebackers are able to diagnose a run play quickly to attack running backs: “Well, that’s one thing that we do and we talk about all the time, as far as, man how does their offensive line block? Are they showing us drop back? Are they showing us play-action? And they do a good job because I’ll tell you what, those two guards they have, I mean they’re powerful men and they do come off the ball. So, you’re right, we have to be really good at being able to diagnose that, get back into our zones and being able to read the quarterback in play. But listen, we’re always going to mix up our coverages. We’re not just always going to be in zone coverage. We have man concepts that we utilize quite a bit, and we do everything we can to try to affect this quarterback.”

On how he thinks Rams QB Matthew Stafford has evolved: “He’s a good player, that’s it. And we’ve got good players too. So, good player against good player, let’s go.”

On why he thinks Rams WR Puka Nacua has been able to have success his rookie season: “You’ve got to go ask their staff. He’ll tell you that – the thing I just know, he’s been breaking tackles and been catching a lot of balls and the quarterback trusts him. So, that’s all we need to know. And he’s a guy that we have to target, and we will target that player.”

On what he has seen from Lions LB Jack Campbell the last month: “The same thing I’ve been telling you guys every week about this player. He’s a damn good player, it’s the reason why we drafted him. And he’s going to be a good player for us for a long time.”

On why Lions DL Romeo Okwara has done well these past few weeks and has been able to overcome his injury: “You know what? I think that’s a good point. I think that has a lot to do with it. I think he’s feeling much better from the injury. And listen, everybody’s different and they talk about that Achilles injury, sometimes it takes you a year – maybe a year and a half to really get over that and get moving and I’ll tell you what, he’s helping us out a lot. And you see his rep count really go up. And then putting him into packages to where he can be free, try to go one-on-one and get to the quarterback. So, we’ll continue to do that, and man I’m happy for that player. I really am, because he’s starting to see himself as a guy that can affect the game and we’re going to put him in position to do that.”

 

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