Could Aaron Glenn be a candidate for the Titans DC job?

This could be something to monitor. We know that the Titans are potentially interested in hiring a defensive coordinator, something they didn’t have (in name) last season. There’s no guarantee that a hire will be made at all (or they could simply promote Shane Bowen), but there’s at least some outside interest here given the fact that they interviewed Teryl Austin recently.

We know that coaches typically like to hire someone they have a connection with. Most of Mike Vrabel’s staff either coached with him in Houston or at Ohio State. In some cases, Vrabel actually played under his assistants (Jim Haslett in Pittsburgh). Vrabel has shown a willingness to go outside his comfort zone here, but he mostly stays within his circle.

In the case of Austin, Vrabel does have two loose connections in common with him, although they’ve never coached or played together. Austin coached under Urban Meyer in 2010, and under Dean Pees shortly thereafter in Baltimore.

Enter Aaron Glenn. Glenn is currently employed by the Saints as a secondary coach. He’s a hot name on the DC market. Glenn has been rumored to land the DC job in Detroit under new head coach Dan Campbell, whom he worked with in New Orleans last season.

Glenn has done excellent work with several players in the Saints’ secondary. They run a creative and effective defense under Dennis Allen. It would be easy to identify Glenn as an up-and-coming coaching candidate.

It recently appeared as if Glenn was a shoe-in for the job in Detroit, but an official announcement hasn’t been made. The holdup is that Glenn apparently has other DC offers on the table:

The fact that Glenn apparently has other offers is very interesting. When searching for a connection between Vrabel and Glenn, you have to dig pretty deep, but there is one. Glenn actually played under Bill Belichick when he was with the New York Jets from 1994 to 2001. Belichick spent several seasons as Glenn’s defensive coordinator while also serving as an assistant head coach.

It’s a loose connection, but it’s not all that different from the connection Vrabel has to reported candidate Teryl Austin. We know that the Titans like to work behind the shadows. There’s a chance for this to get interesting.