While the Denver Broncos have their head coach for the next few years in Sean Payton locked up, the New York Jets tried to recapture some of Payton's pixie dust by hiring former New Orleans Saints defensive backs coach and Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to replace Robert Saleh.
While Glenn is expected to fill out his staff with many of his old Lions buddies, his connection to Payton runs deep. After Payton stocked his Broncos staff with many of his old New Orleans understudies, Glenn might be willing to take them away with the promise of elevated roles.
According to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic, league sources are speculating that Broncos assistant special teams coach Chris Banjo, with whom Glenn crossed paths in New Orleans, could be on the move to New York as he gets promoted to the sole special teams coordinator.
Given how long Glenn was in New Orleans and how many former Saints he crossed paths with are in Denver right now, the Broncos may need to prepare for many of the coaches who made the 2024 season one to remember to bolt with the promise of an expanded role in New York.
Aaron Glenn could hire multiple Broncos coaches as Jets HC
Two names that make a ton of sense for Glenn's offensive coordinator role include passing game coordinator John Morton (who was Jets OC in 2017) and senior offensive assistant Pete Carmichael. Both of them have developed efficient passing games in the past, and that can appeal to Glenn.
On the defensive side of the ball (if Glenn doesn't pull any of his assistants from Detroit), outside linebackers coach Michael Wilhote crossed paths with Glenn during his final two years with the Saints. Defensive backs coach Jim Leonhard is a former Jet, and the front office seems to be quite keen on hiring former Jets DBs.
With the Jets having interviewed Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph for their head coach vacancy before eventually leaning on Glenn, they likely have intel on some of Denver's best assistants. If Glenn wants to bring a Payton flavor to New York, he may have his pick of multiple quality names.
While the Jets hiring some Broncos assistants won't be enough to completely destabilize a team that found a franchise quarterback and made the playoffs in his rookie season, they could slowly eat away at the team's overall fear factor.