Open thread: If Aaron Glenn is hired away, who becomes the Lions DC?

Maybe not this offseason, but it’s a matter of when, not if, Glenn becomes a head coach.

We’re in the midst of the lengthiest hiring cycle in recent memory, and it’s not particularly close. And while you wouldn’t normally expect it out of a three-win team, the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator is in very high demand. Aaron Glenn is a guy who screams head coach, and while it may not happen this offseason, he’ll end up as a head coach eventually. When that happens, who’s up next?

Question of the day: If Aaron Glenn is hired away, who becomes the Lions DC?

My answer: Dick LeBeau.

Just kidding, maybe if he were 10-15 years younger. At age 84, that’s just too much to ask of him. While LeBeau is the most experienced defensive mind, the next man up is more than likely Aubrey Pleasant.

In case you had any doubts about it, the Lions designated Pleasant their defensive coordinator on their Senior Bowl coaching staff, which will be a valuable experience for Pleasant. He took one of the most decimated secondaries in the league and strung together the 24th-ranked pass defense largely comprised of players who would not have landed on a 53-man roster in August if they were on almost any other team.

That’s a testament to two things: first of all, that the Pleasant and this coaching staff have an eye for talent, and secondly, that they know how to develop that talent. It’s rare when you have a coordinator like Glenn to have someone with as much potential as Pleasant waiting in the wings. The Lions are set up well for Glenn’s inevitable departure. That is, of course, if Pleasant isn’t poached to be a DC elsewhere before Glenn gets his head coaching opportunity.

If and when Glenn goes, who do you expect to take over as Lions DC? Will it be Glenn, or is there someone else in mind? Let’s hear it.