On Monday October 31st, The Detroit Lions fired defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant. Pleasant joined the staff along with the current Dan Campbell regime in 2021, previously coaching for The Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, and The Cleveland Browns. It is not difficult to see why The Lions would make a move like this, coming hot off of a week eight loss to The Miami Dolphins, where they let up 382 yards through the air. The Lions’ defense has been downright terrible this season, allowing 266 passing yards per game and a league worst 32 points per game allowed. For the most part, many players in The Detroit secondary have had down years, with the obvious one being cornerback Amani Oruwariye. Coming off a breakout season in 2021 where he recorded 6 interceptions, Oruwariye regressed badly this season, becoming a penalty machine and posting a terrible 28.2 PFF grade. Pleasant’s firing was not surprising, as over the past few weeks it became clear that changes were needed to this defense.
Many fans were disappointed by the performance of defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s defense over the course of the past eight weeks, many questioning the security of his job moving forward. After last season, many believed that Glenn was in position for a potential head coaching opportunity. While Detroit’s defense in 2021 was not exactly The Legion of Boom, many were impressed by how well they played with as little talent was available. This year had been a completely different story, after the return of Jeff Okudah and offseason pickups Aidan Hutchinson, Deshon Elliot, and Malcolm Rodriguez did very little to improve the porous defense. If things don’t improve sooner rather than later, Aaron Glenn might find himself off of the coaching staff before the season’s end.
