Aaron Glenn seems destined to be an NFL head coach. For now, he wants to be "the best coordinator the Lions ever had," which left him fuming when his defense was torched in a recent training camp practice.
A former Pro Bowl cornerback, Glenn laid into Detroit's defensive backs and linebackers in a speech captured in episode four of HBO's 'Hard Knocks' for allowing completion after completion and playing "give-up football."
"We cannot let our offense go out there and compete 16 of 18 passes," Glenn said. "That is fu*king bullsh*t. That is fu*king bullsh*t for that to happen! I don’t give a damn what nobody else thinks, or how you used to practice, but we’re not practicing like that. And if you not with that, you get the fu*k out! I’m just telling you, because we’re not practicing like that. We played give-up football yesterday. And right now, our fu*king offense is laughing because they think that they’re so far ahead of us that we can’t catch up. And that burns me up."
Glenn, who oversaw a defense that allowed the third highest passer rating (101.0) in the NFL last season, knows he has his work cut out for him in year two in Detroit. The Lions won't make strides if their defense doesn't do the same.
In the meeting, Glenn showed a clip of the offense confusing the defense with pre-snap motion and chastised his players for getting played "like fu*king puppets."
"Football is hard enough as it is," said Glenn. "We’re making sh*t harder. I don’t want those fu*kers just catching the ball. In all camp, we’re giving up 72 percent (of passes). So if they throw it 10 times, they catch it seven. That’s fu*king bullshit, and we’re allowing that shit. That’s not fu*king football! That’s not secondary play or fu*king linebacker play. This is losing football! It’s losing football."
The ensuing padded practice was the longest and most physical of training camp. And Glenn's defense rebounded with a spirited performance. At one point, Aidan Hutchinson broke through the offensive line for what would have been a sack of Jared Goff and crowed to the quarterback, "Oh, you're getting smacked! That's gonna hurt, JG."
During a break on the sidelines, David Blough said to Goff, "A.G.'s kind of sending the house at us."
"Yeah, he’s pissed about yesterday," said Goff.
After practice, offensive line coach Hank Fraley swapped roles with Glenn and challenged his players to step up, especially those competing for jobs.
"We need better out of you guys," Fraley said to the group. "If it really means something to you and you really want to make this 11, you better start showing it on the field. Because right now, for some of you guys, this will not be your living. This will not be your living the way you guys are showing up. That’s all I got."
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