A little less than a decade after they were both members of the Cleveland Browns coaching staff in 2015, Kevin O'Connell and Aaron Glenn are now two of only 32 people in the world to have a head coaching job in the NFL.
O'Connell has, of course, been the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings since 2022, and on Wednesday, Glenn was given his very first opportunity to be a head coach in the league by the New York Jets.
After spending the last four seasons as the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, Glenn was officially named the new head coach of the Jets on Wednesday.
O'Connell is likely happy for his former colleague but also excited that he won't have to face a Lions defense with Glenn calling the plays anymore.
Aaron Glenn leaving Detroit Lions for New York Jets clears way for Minnesota Vikings to take over NFC North
In the last few days, Detroit has lost both Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to head coaching jobs (Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears). All of this also happened shortly after the Lions suffered an incredibly disappointing loss to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
The Lions are just the third team since 2013 to have both coordinators leave in the offseason to become the head coach of another team.
It recently happened to the Philadelphia Eagles with Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon leaving after the 2022 campaign and the Cincinnati Bengals went through it in the 2014 offseason when Jay Gruden and Mike Zimmer (who was hired by the Vikings) both left the team to become head coaches elsewhere.
In the following seasons after losing both coordinators, both the Eagles and Bengals won fewer games than they did during the previous year. If this trend continues for Detroit, it will be good news for Minnesota.
In 2024, the Lions were the most dominant team in the NFL with a 15-2 record and a league-leading 33.2 points per game. But Detroit's defense was obliterated with injuries throughout the regular season and it proved to be too much for them to overcome in the playoffs.
It's fair to think that the Lions will take a step back next season after losing Glenn and Johnson this year. They'll still be competitive, but it now seems like there's an opportunity for the Vikings to take back control of the reins as the best team in the NFC North.
With a 14-3 record in 2024, Minnesota would've won its division and likely entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the NFC in any other season. But thanks to Detroit also finishing with a 15-2 record, the Vikings were forced to enter the postseason as the first Wild-Card team in NFL history with 14 wins.
History says the Lions are likely going to experience some regression during the 2025 campaign, and Minnesota will probably experience some as well. But with the majority of their coaching staff from a 14-win season in 2024 returning, the Vikings currently seem to be better prepared than Detroit for another run at the top of the conference in 2025.