Title.
To be clear upfront, I am not on the “Fire AG!!!1!” train, I don’t think he’s been impressive and I’m also not convinced our defensive struggles are primarily his fault either, but I do understand why a lot of fans are not happy with him and want him gone. However, one big reason not to fire Aaron Glenn, or any coach for that matter, is that there’s no guarantee that his replacement is going to be any better.
So, realistically, who is out there that would be both a clear upgrade and available at season’s end? Keeping in mind that it’s very unlikely that any team would allow us to poach their own talented DC or assistant coaches, so we’re really limited to guys who won’t have a job after the Super Bowl. I’m not sure there’s anyone that stands out to me, but I also am not an expert with encyclopedic knowledge of the NFL coaching oligarchy.
A few possibilities:
-
Current head coaches with defensive backgrounds who might get fired: Staley (LAC) is supposedly a defensive guru but the Chargers’ defense is in a similar boat to ours with significantly better talent, so hard pass for me. Robert Saleh (NJY) would be a clear upgrade but I don’t think the Jets will fire him this year, assuming Rodgers comes back for 2024.
-
Current DCs who might be out with their head coaches: again, I don’t know names, but Ejiro Evero (CAR) could be considered here, the Panthers pass defense looks a lot better than their record indicates at least on paper (maybe this is because their run defense sucks though, I don’t know) and this is the area most of the fans complain about so he could improve that unit. However, Panthers fans seem to think the coaching staff has not done a good job developing players which would be a big concern. I’m sure there’s other potential names out there.
-
Assistant defensive coaches (e.g., position coaches) on teams that might be willing to let them do interviews. I think most teams will rather lock down their most talented guys, but some teams are willing to support their coaches moving on with their careers so maybe there are some guys available here?
-
I would probably not want to go after any DC who was fired by a team which kept their head coach, since those guys are probably not good at their jobs, but if anyone knows an exception to this rule feel free to chime in.
-
Similarly, I would prefer not to go after a college coach since the game is so different at the NFL level, but college to NFL is a legitimate coaching talent pipeline so I’m open to being wrong here.
We have like the 30th most expensive defense by market cap. IMO we have good LBs / good secondary, and are just missing that pass rusher opposite Hutchinson, aka James Houston. The fact that 2 guys on the dline basically never generate any pressure is a much bigger problem than it seems. It means that the QB can literally just run away from any McNeill / Hutchinson pressure, because the other guys can’t even keep contain. Those extra couple seconds are the difference between successful coverage and wide open receivers, as no CB can cover for 6+ seconds reliably. The secondary’s performance is strongly correlated with how much pressure the dline generates, which is true for every team in the history of the game.
AG’s scheme has consistently engineered 1 on 1s, which for most teams would be successful. He obviously needs to adjust that in the meantime, but when Houston gets back it WILL work (potentially why he’s hesitant to make drastic changes, as they will be temporary). Ultimately it may be a good thing to add him back towards the end of the year. Only time will tell.
These are some of the reasons why I’m not on the Fire AG train, frankly I think our talent level is not at contender level on that side of the ball. I do wish we’d made some move at the trade deadline (maybe not Young/Sweat level but for a solid pass rush specialist for 3rd downs at least), but I understand that BH is committed to his philosophy and this isn’t the year to go all-in. Hopefully the defense rounds into form and this is all a moot point anyways.