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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Jets Moving Toward Aaron Glenn, Lance Newmark Hires

January 21st, 2025 at 11:12pm CST by Adam La Rose

11:12pm: It doesn’t sound like any deals will come together tonight. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, both Glenn and Newmark have left the Jets facility without deals. Connor Hughes of SNY.tv cautions that all sides will continue to talk, so there’s no huge cause for concern within the Jets front office.

4:45pm: The clear favorites for the Jets are known regarding both the head coach and general manager vacancies. Lions DC Aaron Glenn and Commanders AGM Lance Newmark are meeting in person with the team today, paving the way for a potential hire in both cases.

New York’s reported intention is to work out an agreement with Glenn before he leaves the facility; especially if that proves to be the case, Newmark could soon agree to take on GM duties. The two have worked together in Detroit, and Newmark is the only candidate so far who has met with the Jets for a second time regarding the general manager vacancy. This situation could produce a pair of hires very soon.

Bovada’s Josina Anderson reports optimism is building with respect to both Glenn and Newmark being brought onboard. An agreement has yet to be finalized in either case, but that could of course change at any time. Considering Glenn has already been in contact with potential coordinator hires, it would come as no surprise if he were to agree to a New York deal. If that does not take place today, however, the Saints will continue to loom as an alternative destination.

Newmark’s Commanders are one of the four teams still playing, but as the Titans’ hiring of former Chiefs exec Mike Borgonzi demonstrated, front office personnel are free to join new teams at any time. Coaches whose seasons have ended cannot do the same, but the Lions’ upset loss this weekend left Glenn (along with Ben Johnson) on the market earlier than expected.

The Jets have leaned heavily on The 33rd Team’s Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman to lead the search for both the HC and GM roles. Both processes have been wide-ranging, but further signs indicate they have come to an end. SNY’s Connor Hughes reports other candidates are being contacted and told they are out of the running, all-but confirming a Glenn-Newmark tandem will soon officially be in place.

Lions’ Kelvin Sheppard Emerging As Popular DC Candidate

January 21st, 2025 at 8:19pm CST by Ben Levine

With Aaron Glenn trending towards New York, there’s a good chance that one of his soon-to-be-former assistants will be a hot name on the DC market. According to Jordan Schultz, Lions linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard is expected to be a candidate for open defensive coordinator jobs.

[RELATED: Jets Moving Toward Aaron Glenn, Lance Newmark Hires]

Of course, Sheppard’s coordinator candidacy will be partly tied to Glenn. If the current Lions DC ends up taking the Jets head coaching job (or another HC gig), then Sheppard would be a natural replacement on Detroit’s sideline. Further, Sheppard could also be an option to join Glenn in New York (or elsewhere).

A 2011 third-round pick out of LSU, Sheppard spent nearly a decade in the NFL. A few years after his retirement, he joined Detroit’s coaching staff as their outside linebackers coach. After a year in that role, Sheppard transitioned to inside linebackers coach, a title he’s held for the past three seasons.

The coach has earned praise for helping revive the careers of veterans (like Alex Anzalone) and helping guide young draft picks (like Jack Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez). Per Schultz, Sheppard has a “sterling” reputation not only in Detroit, but around the NFL…so a promotion might not be dependent on a Lions connection.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/21/25

January 21st, 2025 at 7:13pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s reserve/futures contracts:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • DB Cameron McCutcheon

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Terrell Williams Favorite For Patriots DC Job?

January 21st, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Ben Levine

Mike Vrabel has already found his new offensive coordinator. Now, it sounds like the new Patriots head coach is zeroing in on his defensive coordinator. According to Matt Zenitz CBS Sports, the Patriots are targeting Lions DL coach Terrell Williams for their DC gig.

[RELATED: Patriots To Hire Josh McDaniels As OC]

Albert Breer of TheMMQB provides some more insight, noting that the Patriots requested and were granted permission to interview Williams. The Patriots have also spoken to the coach (although it sounds like conversation this was more informal than an official interview), and people within the Lions organization are expecting Williams to head east.

Williams was one of Vrabel’s most-trusted lieutenants during their time in Tennessee, where Williams served as assistant head coach in addition to his duties as defensive line coach. The duo worked alongside each other for their entire five-year stint with the Titans, and that relationship automatically made Williams a name-to-watch for the Patriots DC gig.

Over his five years as the Titans DL coach, the team allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards in the NFL. The coach was credited with the development of Denico Autry, who compiled at least eight sacks in three-straight seasons, and former first-round pick Jeffery Simmons, who earned a pair of All-Pro nods under Williams’ tutelage. After the Titans cleaned house last offseason, Williams joined the Lions as their run-game coordinator/defensive line coach.

While the fate of Jerod Mayo‘s staff was uncertain, it seemed pretty clear that Vrabel would look to bring in his own coaches. DeMarcus Covington was New England’s DC in 2024, with the Patriots ranking just outside the bottom-10 in points allowed and yards allowed.

Jets Schedule Second GM Interview With Lance Newmark

January 21st, 2025 at 11:47am CST by Nikhil Mehta

JANUARY 21: Newmark is traveling to the Jets’ facility today, Bovada’s Josina Anderson reports. That means his second interview will take place on the same day as Glenn’s; as such, a pair of major organizational moves could be made in the immediate future.

JANUARY 20: The Jets have scheduled a second interview for their general manager vacancy with Lance Newmark, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Newmark is currently the assistant GM for the Commanders, who he joined last offseason after 26 years with the Lions. In Detroit, he spearheaded scouting operations and roster management as senior director of player personnel, overseeing the team’s remarkable turnaround over the last few years. He also has experience leading the Lions’ Football Technology and Football Information departments.

Newmark’s tenure in Detroit also resulted in a strong relationship with both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, who emerged as top head coaching candidates this cycle. Johnson is no longer available after accepting a job with the Bears, but Glenn has continued to pick up momentum in New York.

Glenn is “very interested” in coaching the Jets, who are “highly intrigued” by the leadership and schematic advantage he would bring, per Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. He may be even more inclined to take the job if paired with a former colleague in Newmark.

The offseason hiring cycle is starting to speed up, so the Jets may need to move quickly if they want to hire Glenn and Newmark for their top leadership positions. Glenn is scheduled for a second interview in New York this week, but is also considered a frontrunner for the Saints job, while Newmark has also interviewed for the Raiders’ GM gig.

Seahawks Schedule Second OC Interview With Hank Fraley

January 21st, 2025 at 10:12am CST by Adam La Rose

The Lions have already lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Bears, while defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn looks to be on track to land the Jets’ head coaching gig. Detroit’s staff could even more shorthanded in the near future.

Offensive line coach Hank Fraley is scheduled to take part in a second interview for the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator position, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports. This in-person meeting will take place today. Fraley is now the third candidate who has advanced to the finalist stage.

Seattle replaced Pete Carroll with Mike Macdonald as head coach last offseason, and Ryan Grubb was brought in as offensive coordinator. That setup did not go as planned, though, and Grubb was among the coordinators fired at the end of the regular season. Seattle has met with five replacement candidates so far, and with a trio of finalists in place it would come as a surprise if that list were to expand any further.

Fraley’s virtual interview with the Seahawks was his first for an offensive coordinator position. O-line coaches do not generally tend to receive coordinator opportunities, but the 47-year-old is held in high regard. He quickly transitioned to coaching after a decade-long NFL playing career, working with offensive lines at both the college and NFL levels. Fraley has been in the Motor City since 2018, and he was promoted to O-line coach in 2020.

The success of his unit has been a driving force for the Lions’ overall play on offense in recent years. As a result, losing Fraley would deal a blow to Detroit on that side of the ball. Head coach Dan Campbell said yesterday he is prepared to look at internal and external candidates to replace Johnson, and Fraley could receive consideration if he were to remain with the Lions. A departure could take place depending on the outcome of his Seattle interview, however.

Via PFR’s coordinator search tracker, this is how things are shaping up for the Seahawks:

Jets Aiming To Finalize Aaron Glenn HC Hire

January 21st, 2025 at 8:41am CST by Adam La Rose

With Ben Johnson having agreed to become the Bears’ next head coach, attention has now turned to his former Lions coordinator colleague Aaron Glenn. The latter will conduct a second interview with the Jets today, and he may soon have a deal in place.

New York’s goal is to make it through today’s meeting without Glenn leaving the facility, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. No agreement has been worked out yet, but achieving that objective would take Glenn off the list of remaining HC candidates. A second interview with the Saints is scheduled for tomorrow, but it is telling that the 52-year-old elected to speak with the Jets first.

As Rapoport’s colleague Mike Garafolo adds, Glenn spent part of yesterday speaking with assistants who may join him on his next staff. The presumed destination for that scenario was New York, another indication the team has landed on its preferred coaching candidate. If a deal is finalized, it will pave the way for a reunion in Glenn’s case.

The former Pro Bowler played 205 games in the NFL. The first 121 of those came with the Jets, and Glenn served as a full-time starter throughout his time with the team, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods. Earlier in the hiring cycle, it became clear New York (along with New Orleans) represented a serious potential landing spot in the event he were to receive a head coaching opportunity. Glenn has never led an NFL staff, but it appears that will change shortly.

The Jets hired a highly-regarded defensive coordinator in 2021 when Robert Saleh was brought in. He remained in place through the midway point of the 2024 campaign, posting an overall record of 20-36 prior to his dismissal. Things did not go according to plan when DC Jeff Ulbrich was promoted to interim head coach, leaving some to expect an offense-oriented replacement would be brought in f0r 2025. If the Glenn hire goes through, though, the opposite will be true.

Glenn began his pro coaching tenure with the Browns, spending two seasons with the team before coaching the Saints’ defensive backs for five years. His first coordinator gig came with Dan Campbell and the Lions in 2021, and the team’s defense has improved in terms of points allowed every year since then. The Lions dealt with a slew of injuries from the regular season through to this weekend’s upset loss in the divisional round, but after ranking seventh in the NFL in scoring defense Glenn’s stock has not taken a hit.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano notes the Jets do not currently have any other in-person HC interviews scheduled. The same is also true of the team’s general manager vacancy, with Lance Newmark set to take part in his second interview today. Newmark’s career included a lengthy tenure in Detroit, and he has a strong relationship with both Johnson and Glenn. SNY’s Connor Hughes reports Newmark was expected to follow Johnson to the Raiders, but since that is not the case he is free to work with Glenn in New York. A hire on both fronts could happen as early as today.

With their coaching search seeming to be close to the finish line, here is a look at where things stand for the Jets:

Bears Hire Ben Johnson As HC

January 20th, 2025 at 11:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

No second interviews are coming for Ben Johnson, after all. The coveted coordinator has made his choice, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting the Bears are expected to reach an agreement with the three-year Lions play-caller. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.

Although Johnson had stepped away as the Panthers’ preferred candidate in 2023 and then informed the Commanders late in last year’s process he was out, the Bears will land the coach who had been viewed by many as this year’s biggest fish. This represents one of the more significant developments in modern Bears history, as they had been connected to the rival coordinator for months.

As of Sunday, the Jaguars and Raiders were still in pursuit. Johnson had spoken to Tom Brady for hours during a Zoom meeting, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports, but the Las Vegas setup had a notable hole the Chicago gig does not. The Bears used the Bryce Young trade to acquire the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, giving them Caleb Williams access. They have now secured a coach to develop the well-regarded prospect. The Raiders have yet to identify a quarterback, with Brady tasked with helping the organization land one. Las Vegas also dropped to the No. 6 pick thanks to two late-season wins, which may well have been a factor in this now-Brady-led HC search.

The Jaguars’ setup is not in line with what Johnson preferred, Russini adds, helping to eliminate them. Jacksonville made the unexpected move to keep Trent Baalke as GM after firing Doug Pederson. Baalke’s polarizing presence was believed to have turned off some coaching candidates, and it appears Johnson was one of them. The Jags were believed to be open to moving Baalke to a different position in the organization depending on their HC hire, as they prepared an aggressive Johnson push, but that may not have been enough to satisfy a coordinator with options.

The Bears may be zeroing in on a defensive coordinator as well. As Russini reported, both Dennis Allen and Lou Anarumo had engaged in discussions about potentially joining Johnson wherever he landed. Johnson is expected to choose Allen, and Anarumo just committed to be the Colts’ DC. Allen has indeed emerged as a prime candidate to follow Johnson to Chicago, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Allen was in charge of the Saints’ defense from 2016-24, before being fired during his third season as head coach. Though, the ex-Sean Payton assistant — Aaron Glenn‘s boss in New Orleans — played the lead role in turning the Saints’ defense around during Drew Brees‘ final seasons.

Baalke’s Jacksonville presence may not be too dissimilar to how Chicago’s power structure looks now. Candidates were curious about what role third-year president Kevin Warren would play. While Warren had said GM Ryan Poles was running what turned out to be an expansive search — featuring nearly 20 confirmed candidates — the team president was believed to be closely involved in football operations. Advertised as an exec who would primarily stay on the business side, Warren has been instead heavily involved in football matters.

This setup still did enough for Johnson, who will work with Poles in attempting to restore the Bears as a power in a strong division. It should also be noted (h/t Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager) Poles and Johnson were each Boston College graduate assistants in the late 2000s. Poles served on the football staff in 2008 after his playing career ended, while Johnson was at BC from 2009-10.

Dan Campbell said earlier today he did not expect either Johnson or Glenn to return. Glenn remains a candidate with several HC-needy teams, but Johnson has loomed as Detroit’s more coveted option. His decision to back out of the Commanders’ job came as reps from the NFC East club were en route to Detroit for interviews with he and Glenn. Rather than hire Glenn, Washington chose Dan Quinn.

The latter’s team just eliminated Johnson’s from the playoffs, freeing the Bears up to make their preferred hire now rather than wait at least another week. Had the Lions held seed and advanced to Super Bowl LIX, the Bears would have needed to wait until after the mid-February event to make their hire.

The Lions’ shortcoming will benefit the Bears, who have not been able to firmly establish themselves as a contender since at least the mid-2000s. And that defense-powered operation only stayed afloat on that level for two seasons. The Bears have not made three straight playoff berths since Mike Ditka‘s tenure more than 30 years ago. The offensive minds the Bears have hired in the recent past (Marc Trestman, Matt Nagy) have not been able to move the needle, Nagy’s two playoff berths notwithstanding. Johnson, however, checks in as a candidate on a higher plane by comparison to those two HCs or really any coach the Bears have hired in recent history.

Although the Lions did not book three straight playoff berths during Johnson’s tenure, they may well be on their way to that. Detroit’s hotshot OC, promoted from a post as tight ends coach after being hired by Matt Patricia, played a central role in the long-downtrodden organization’s climb. The innovative play-caller drove Detroit to two fifth-place offensive rankings and this season’s top mark in terms of scoring. The Lions ranked in the top four in yardage in each of Johnson’s three seasons calling plays.

Johnson, 38, restored Jared Goff as an upper-crust quarterback, doing so after the Lions had acquired the five-year Rams starter as the throw-in piece in the 2021 Matthew Stafford trade. Goff guided Detroit to last year’s AFC championship game and a 15-2 record this season. Johnson was seen as the architect of that resurgence.

Whereas Trestman was given Jay Cutler and Nagy mostly Mitchell Trubisky, Johnson will be tasked with developing Williams. It looks like he chose a Williams partnership over seeing what Brady could come up with in Vegas or working with Trevor Lawrence — and a $55MM-per-year contract — in Jacksonville. Williams ranked 28th in QBR this season, one in which the Bears had Thomas Brown move to three positions — pass-game coordinator, OC and interim HC — during a disjointed campaign marred by a 10-game losing streak. Williams showed a Justin Fields-like penchant for taking sacks, leading the NFL with 68. But the former Heisman winner also showed flashes that attracted candidates; he is signed through at least 2026 on a rookie contract.

This Johnson hire will be the Bears’ aim to maximize their Williams investment, and the team having D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze signed long term undoubtedly helped woo the picky HC candidate. The Raiders and Jags will need to pivot to other options, while the Bears stand to immediately become more interesting in a division in which they finished five games behind the third-place Packers. Johnson will get to work at attempting to reel in his former employer and a Vikings team that just went 14-3.

Via PFR’s HC Search Tracker, here is how the long-running Chicago HC search wrapped up:

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/20/25

January 20th, 2025 at 10:13pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest reserve/futures deals from around the league:

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Pittsburgh Steelers

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