Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn summed up all the qualities the Tennessee Titans say they're looking for in a new head coach in a few quick sentences.

"Man, there are a lot of ways that I’ve grown and it’s too much to actually sit here and talk about," Glenn said last week when asked about his path to becoming one of the NFL's most sought-after head coaching candidates. "But understanding how to collaborate with the GM, understanding how to speak with your owner. More than that, understanding how to relate with your players, which is not an issue for me at all.”

The Titans reportedly have requested to interview Glenn and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for the head coaching vacancy, two pursuits that aren't exactly unique. The Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders reportedly have requested to speak to both candidates, and the Carolina Panthers requested Johnson.

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After half a century as one of the NFL's most convenient punchlines, the Lions have emerged with one of the league's most enviable infrastructures. Coach Dan Campbell's squad finished 12-5, securing the franchise's first division title since 1993 and first playoff win since 1992.

Just two years removed from a 3-13-1 season, their 17th losing season in 21 years, the Lions have turned things all the way around thanks to an organizational philosophy that reflects Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk's wishes. The Lions preach philosophical alignment and collaboration between ownership, coaches, personnel staffers and players above all else, and have ridden that vision to the point of achieving something the franchise never has.

"We figure it out. We figure it out. We always do," Campbell said in August about what makes his partnership with Lions general manager Brad Holmes and owner Sheila Ford Hamp work. "And we either — both of us are happy or both of us are not happy.”

What makes Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson desirable

It's easy to see why Johnson is so sought after. The Lions this season scored 27.1 points per game, the fifth-most in the NFL, and averaged 394.8 yards per game, the third-most in the NFL. They ranked in the top-five in the league in scoring, yards per play and per game, rush yards per play and per game, and pass yards per play and per game. The only other team that could say that in 2023 was the San Francisco 49ers.

Lions running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs accounted for 1,960 yards and 23 touchdowns. Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was third in the NFL in receptions and receiving yards, and fourth in receiving touchdowns. Pro Football Focus graded the offensive line as the league's 10th-best pass blocking unit and second-best run blocking unit.

And then there's quarterback Jared Goff, who credits Johnson's personality and demeanor for his career resurgence as much as he credits Johnson's talents with X's and O's.

"We have a very open communication and relationship, where I can come to him and vent and he can come to me and I can also go to him with ideas," Goff told ESPN in September. "Obviously he’s the idea guy, but if I have stuff that I think will work, he’ll listen to everything. He’s a great listener.”

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Glenn's bona fides are a little tougher to quantify. The Lions ranked 23rd in scoring defense and 19th in total defense this season. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is blossoming, but the unit doesn't have much easy-to-point-to star power.

Instead, Glenn is highly regarded for his leadership qualities. Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who played under Glenn when he was the secondary coach in New Orleans and rejoined him in Detroit this season, said he thinks of Glenn like a father and would seek his feedback even when he wasn't his coach.

Glenn was voted the NFL's top defensive coordinator in a recent NFLPA poll, meaning his players view him more favorably than any other team's players view their defensive coordinator.

His 15 seasons of NFL experience help here.

"With the young players, he was very father-like to them, big brother-like," Middle Tennessee defensive coordinator Brian Stewart — who was Glenn's position coach with the Houston Texans in 2002-03 — told The Tennessean. "If he saw one of the young DBs didn’t do the drill well, he’d tell them ‘OK, put your outside foot up.’ . . .

"He was very detailed, and he was detailed when he was helping out those young guys. He wasn’t worried about anybody taking his job as much as making the group better by making the young guys know what to do and know how to do it."

Stewart points to one game as proof of Glenn's knack for preparation. On Dec. 8, 2002, the Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers despite being outgained 422 yards to 47. Glenn returned two interceptions for 70- and 65-yard scores, each after he jumped in front of slant routes intended for star receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress was eight inches and 47 pounds bigger than Glenn, but Glenn didn't have to out-muscle him because he knew Burress' tendencies well enough to skip in front of slant routes at the perfect time.

What the Tennessee Titans are looking for

There isn't one through-line connecting the Titans' 10 confirmed and reported candidates. Six have offensive backgrounds. Seven — including all of the offensive candidates — are in their 30s, while three of the four defensive candidates are 45 or older. There's one candidate who has worked for Sean McVay, one who has worked for Kyle Shanahan and one who has worked for Andy Reid. No one has ever worked for the Titans, discounting Mike Kafka's seven-day stint on the Titans' practice squad in 2015.

Clearly the Titans aren't limiting their search to one on-field philosophy or scheme. But Adams Strunk's credo of looking for an "aligned and collaborative team across all football functions," and GM Ran Carthon's pledge to always communicate and cooperate with coaches to acquire the players they want sound an awful lot like messaging from Campbell, Holmes, Hamp, Glenn and Johnson.

The NFL has taken notice. Even New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was preaching the virtues of collaboration in the days after parting ways with Bill Belichick, a coach who wasn't exactly known for kowtowing to someone else's vision.

Now the question is if the Titans value these traits enough to beat out the myriad other bidders competing to bring Johnson, Glenn and the Lions way to the franchise.

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Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Tennessee Titans want, Detroit Lions coordinators seem to have