Why the Detroit Lions get 2 draft picks to lose Aaron Glenn to the Jets

On January 23, 2025By Littum

Aaron Glenn will be the head coach of the New York Jets, and the Detroit Lions will receive two draft picks as thanks for his work.

Under changes to the NFL’s Rooney Rule enacted in November 2020, teams that lose minority assistants to head coaching positions along with other teams receive two compensatory draft picks.

The picks are placed at the end of the third round after other compensatory picks are awarded, and come in consecutive years.

In Glenn’s case, the Lions will receive extra third-round picks in 2025-2026, with the exact slot to be determined later this spring. OverTheCap.com projects at the moment Minnesota Vikings (for Kirk Cousins) and Miami Dolphins (for Robert Hunt) to receive third-round picks for free agent losses, and San Francisco 49ers (for DeMeco Ryans/Ran Carthon) and Los Angeles Rams (for Raheem Morris) have comp picks remaining for previous minority employment. If that order holds, the Lions’ extra pick would be No. 101 overall.

Under Rooney Rule guidelines, the picks awarded for hires follow the same order as the draft.

The Lions had six picks in the 2025 draft before Glenn’s departure. They pick 28th in the first round, 60th in the second round and have single picks in rounds 4 and 6 and two in round 7. They traded their original third-round pick to the Jets to draft offensive tackle Gio Manu in the fourth round last spring.

Comp picks for minority hires were added as a way to promote diversity and inclusion in the coaching and executive ranks and apply to all head coaching and general manager positions. Teams receiving extra picks must have employed the departing coach or manager for at least two full years.

Glenn spent the last four seasons as the Lions’ defensive coordinator and was a member of head coach Dan Campbell’s original staff.

The Lions have never received comp picks for a minority hire before — Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson are the first Lions assistants to be hired directly for a head coaching position by another team since Chuck Knox in 1973 — but added to the formula when they hired general manager Brad Holmes of the Rams in 2021.

The Rams used their extra third-round pick on linebacker Ernest Jones (No. 103 overall in 2021) and guard Logan Bruss.

Dave Birkett is the author of the book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.