Aaron Glenn in line to return to Lions as Colts reportedly plan to hire Shane Steichen

It appears Aaron Glenn watch is finally over.

A week ago, Glenn was reportedly notified that he was no longer in the running for the Arizona Cardinals job (which remains unfilled at the moment). Now, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the one remaining head coaching gig available—the Indianapolis Colts job—has narrowed its candidates to one. Per Schefter, the Colts are planning to hire Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.

No deal is done yet, as the Colts cannot negotiate with Steichen until the Super Bowl is over. And as we’ve seen in the past—specifically with the Colts and Josh McDaniels—nothing is official until the paperwork is done.

Schefter said that the Colts have started to notify other candidates that they are no longer in the running, first on Friday and then continuing on Sunday. At this point, there are no reports that Glenn, specifically, has been notified.

But for now, it looks like Glenn has been passed over again this year, meaning he is in line to return as Detroit’s defensive coordinator for the third straight season.

In Glenn’s two seasons with the Lions, Detroit’s defense has finished among the bottom 10 in most statistical categories. However, 2022 saw drastic improvement, especially in the second half of the season, as Detroit's’ young roster is slowly improving. With burgeoning talent like Aidan Hutchinson, James Houston, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Kerby Joseph, among others, there’s a chance the Lions defense takes a big jump in 2023—especially now that they’re likely going to have the stability of the same coordinator and defensive scheme.

In other news, the New York Jets have requested to interview Lions assistant wide receivers coach Seth Ryan for the WR coach position. Ryan’s father, Rex, was head coach of the Jets from 2009 through 2014. The younger Ryan has been with the Lions for the past two seasons, originally coming over with Anthony Lynn from the Chargers. Lynn would only last a single season in Detroit before the Lions opted to replace him with in-house tight ends coach Ben Johnson.

If the Lions lose Ryan, they still obviously have Antwaan Randle-El as their receivers coach.