DETROIT — The Jets and Lions do not play too often, but this is a matchup filled with familiarity for the two head coaches.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn and Lions coach Dan Campbell both played at Texas A&M and were teammates with the Cowboys before coaching together on Sean Payton’s staff with the Saints. When Campbell was hired by the Lions in 2021, he hired Glenn as his defensive coordinator, a position he held until leaving in 2025 to become head coach of the Jets.
Now, the two meet again in a pivotal Week 3 matchup for both teams. Both are 1-1 and coming off tough losses. The Jets suffered a fourth-quarter collapse against the Packers. The Lions got blown out by the Bills.
“Our players know exactly what’s coming in here because the defensive coordinator was here for [four] years,” Campbell said. “And, look what just happened last Thursday night [against Buffalo].
“So, this is not going to be a trap game. This is going to be a knockout, 60-minute brawl.”
Glenn downplayed any emotional significance this game carries for him, but he did speak glowingly of Campbell. Glenn said he was Campbell’s first hire in Detroit, and the two spent plenty of time mapping out just how they were going to fix the Lions.
“We just sat in my office and we talked football and how we were going to change this program around,” Glenn said. “And those things will always stick with me, because the things that we talked about, we actually did, and Detroit actually ended up being exactly where they are now.”
The Lions come into this game with a high-powered offense led by Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown, but also with questions about their defense. They are 31st in total defense, and the Bills went up and down the field on them last week.
For Glenn, this is his first chance to bounce back from a terrible day against Green Bay that called into question his decision making, as the team blew a 17-7 lead before losing 20-17 in overtime. Glenn made several critical decisions that did not go his way down the stretch.
This is the middle of a three-game stretch against NFC North opponents for the Jets, and Glenn‘s team could certainly use a win against his old friend Campbell.
