Aaron Glenn is back where his NFL journey began nearly 31 years ago.

He was a game-changing cornerback for the New York Jets then. Now he’s tasked with helping turn around the fortunes of the franchise.

The Jets and Glenn agreed to terms Wednesday on making the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator their head coach.

Glenn, who oversaw the Lions’ defense the past four seasons, beat out 15 other candidates for the job as the Jets went through an extensive search.

And they ended up choosing one of their former players — a first-round draft pick in 1994 who was mentored by Bill Parcells, became one of the Jets’ best playmakers and developed into a well-respected and highly sought coach.

“This place is special for me,” Glenn said in a statement issued by the Jets, who announced the agreement Wednesday night. “From the time I was drafted and practiced on Long Island to the time I came back as a scout in New Jersey, this organization has always felt like home.”

The 52-year-old Glenn, who turned Detroit’s defense into one of the best in the league, interviewed with Washington, Atlanta, Tennessee and the Los Angeles Chargers last year. And he met with the Jets, Jacksonville, Las Vegas and Chicago this year.

Glenn spoke with the Jets during a video call on Jan. 9 and then interviewed in person Tuesday.

The Jets also interviewed Brian Flores, Jeff Hafley, Vance Joseph, Mike Locksley, Josh McCown, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Darren Rizzi, Rex Ryan, Bobby Slowik, Arthur Smith, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich, Mike Vrabel and Joe Whitt Jr. for the job.

But only Glenn received a second interview. And New York didn’t need to think twice about talking to anyone else again.

Glenn becomes the third Black head coach in the franchise’s history, joining Herm Edwards and Todd Bowles. He’s also the first Black coach to be hired to lead an NFL team during this year’s hiring cycle.

patriots hire mcdaniels to lead offense >> The New England Patriots have hired former Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels as their new offensive coordinator — his third stint in that role with the team, but his first since the departure of longtime mentor Bill Belichick.

The Patriots, who named Mike Vrabel as coach this month, also hired Terrell Williams, who spent six years on Vrabel’s staff in Tennessee, as defensive coordinator and retained current New England special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer.

McDaniels was the Patriots OC during Vrabel’s final three seasons as a player in New England and was one of the longest-tenured assistants under Belichick, working for him a total 15 years, including nine as offensive coordinator, and all six of the franchise’s Super Bowl wins.

baalke out as jaguars gm >> General manager Trent Baalke is out in Jacksonville after the Jaguars failed to land second interviews with three of their top coaching candidates. Team owner Shad Khan made the announcement hours after Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen withdrew his name for consideration for the Jaguars job and agreed to a new contract with the Buccaneers. Coen had been scheduled to interview with the Jaguars on Wednesday.

Ethan Waugh will serve as interim general manager.

golden leaves notre dame to be bengals DC >> Al Golden agreed to return to Cincinnati after three seasons as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. Golden was the Bengals’ linebackers coach during the 2020 and ‘21 seasons.

Golden replaces Lou Anarumo, who led Cincinnati’s defense for six seasons. Anarumo was hired as the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator on Monday.

raiders hire spytek as gm >> The Las Vegas Raiders hired Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek to be their GM, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. Spytek, 44, replaces Tom Telesco, who was fired after just one year along with coach Antonio Pierce. The Raiders are still searching for a new coach.

Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, who finished his playing career as the Bucs quarterback, is believed to have had a hand in the hiring as well as the coaching search. He and Spytek were college teammates at Michigan.