On the Lions' bye, Dan Campbell turned into a fan of the Jets. That usually ends poorly. In this case, Campbell got to see his close friend Aaron Glenn get his first win as an NFL head coach.
The Jets rallied from a 38-24 fourth quarter deficit to topple the Bengals 39-38 in Cincinnati and win their first game under Glenn, the former defensive coordinator of the Lions.
"I didn’t watch the whole game, I watched the score, I saw the end of it," said Campbell. "I’m keeping up with AG, I’ll text back and forth with him. I’m a huge fan obviously. So it was good to see. I know that was tough, you’re down a couple of scores and they rallied back, hung in there and found a way to win. And to get that first one, it’s just a good feeling. Happy for all those guys."
Campbell and Glenn first crossed paths as teammates on the Cowboys under Bill Parcells in 2005, then reunited as coaches on the Saints under Parcells disciple Sean Payton for five seasons before they both came to Detroit in 2021. Campbell was a vocal supporter of Glenn's head coaching candidacy throughout their time with the the Lions.
Both Glenn and former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson departed after last season, with Johnson taking over as head coach of the Bears. Campbell stays in closer contact with Glenn given their history.
Glenn's Jets are now 1-7, Johnson's Bears 4-3. They could be the first of many head coaches to branch off from Campbell's tree. Current Lions defensive coordinator and Glenn's protege Kelvin Sheppard could be next in line, with the ambitions to lead his own team in the future. The more that Glenn and Johnson win, "the more it could help those things," said Campbell.
Campbell knows as well as anyone that a turnaround takes time, especially for a team as tortured as the Jets. The Lions were coming off three straight last place finishes and headed for a fourth when Campbell took over. They would go 4-19-1 over his first 24 games, worst in the NFL. They're 40-12 since, tied with the Chiefs for best in the NFL.
The Jets were coming off nine straight losing seasons when Glenn arrived, with the worst record in the NFL over that stretch. The Bears were coming off three straight last place finishes with one winning season in the prior 12 years when Johnson arrived.
"Both of those guys, you go into a new program and there’s a reason why you just got hired, because things weren’t going the way that those organizations wanted them to go," said Campbell. "So, it takes a minute. It just does. And you don’t know when that’ll come, how long it’s going to take, and patience is always going to help.”