John Glenn ’05 Set for 2nd Straight Super Bowl with Seattle Seahawks

Ten years ago, John Glenn ‘05 spent most of his time at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania between Stroud Hall and Eiler-Martin Stadium, where he was a three-year starter at linebacker for the Warriors’ football team.

Glenn has turned his passion for football into the start of a promising coaching career with the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions who will play for their second straight NFL title against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

“I knew back then that I wanted a career in football because I wanted to give back to the sport that gave so much to me,” he said.

Glenn is in his third year in Seattle, working as a quality control coach and linebackers coach for the defensive staff after two years as an assistant special teams coach, including the Seahawks’ convincing 43-8 win over the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl last February.

“I am as amped as amped can be,” he said. “I couldn’t be more fortunate to be a part of a team with such a unique group of guys who love playing for one another and are so caught up in playing as hard as they can.”

Glenn is the most recent in a group of Warriors who will give ESU an alumnus coaching in the Super Bowl for the sixth time in the last nine years.

Last winter, he joined Pat Flaherty ’78, a two-time champion in 2007 and 2011 as offensive line coach of the New York Giants, as Warriors with Super Bowl rings.

Others who have coached in the “big game” are Harry Hiestand ’83, offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006 who is currently at Notre Dame, and Vic Fangio ’80, defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers in 2012, who was recently hired to the same position with the Bears.

Hard at work last week after an improbable 28-22 (OT) victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game, Glenn spends most of his days and nights (5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.) watching film and charting opponents’ offensive tendencies – crucial work in preparing the team’s No. 1-ranked defense.

“I could tell anyone when the last time was that New England threw a pass from the 20 yard line,” he said.

But as his eyes are glued to studying the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady, the once-upon-a-time ESU Warrior can’t help but think of the journey that’s taking him to Arizona this week.

Glenn was a standout quarterback and linebacker at Lackawanna Trail High School, helping the team to the District 2 Class A championship in 1999.

His preparation for a career in the National Football League began during his time on ESU’s campus.

Glenn played basketball at ESU for two years before transitioning to the football field, where he credits head coach Denny Douds and his staff, including longtime coaches Mike Terwilliger (offensive coordinator) and Mike Santella (offensive line), for playing a role in molding his success.

“It’s because of the coaches at ESU that I was so well prepared to work in the NFL,” Glenn mentioned of his time playing for Douds, the winningest coach in PSAC history.

“There wasn’t much football I hadn’t seen during my time as a Warrior,” he said. “The lessons they taught me are ones that still help me every day.”

On the field, Glenn was a starter on the Warriors’ 2004 and 2005 NCAA Division II playoff teams and helped the 2005 squad capture the Northeast Region title, advancing to the national semifinals.

And off the field, he traveled to staff a football camp at the University of Southern California (USC) where he established a relationship with Pete Carroll, then the head coach of one of the top collegiate programs in the country. It was a connection that would benefit Glenn several years later.

After graduating from ESU in 2005 with a degree in Communication Studies, Glenn was a volunteer coach for the Warriors before landing a position at North Carolina Wesleyan College. In 2008, he moved to California where he did some freelancing for Nike. He returned to college football in 2010, obtaining a position as an assistant coach at the University of Washington under head coach Steve Sarkisian, who Glenn had met at USC when Sarkisian was a member of Carroll’s staff.

Glenn coached at Washington in 2010 and 2011, then considered following offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier to the University of Alabama – but not without giving a call to Carroll first.

Carroll, who became the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2010, called Glenn back four days later and offered him a job in the NFL. The rest is history.

With three seasons under his belt in Seattle, Glenn shares the philosophy of Carroll and the Seahawks.

“We just work every day to be better than we were yesterday and we compete as hard as we can to be the best we can be,” he said.

That philosophy paid off on a national stage in the NFC championship game on January 18, when the Seahawks scored two touchdowns in the final 2:09 of regulation after trailing 16-0 at halftime and 19-7 late in the fourth quarter. After forcing overtime, a touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse sent the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl.

Glenn, who had a front row seat for the historic comeback from his vantage point in the Seahawks’ coaching box, said the team always believed.

“We just kept talking about getting a stop and getting a score, and our guys kept playing,” Glenn said, echoing a message that he undoubtedly heard from the Warriors’ coaches during his time at ESU.

After earning a return trip to the Super Bowl, winning another NFL championship is the organization’s end goal.

The ultimate goal for Glenn? To be a head coach in the NFL. He’s always believed that good things happen to good people and hard work will always pay off.

“When people see my name, I want them to know how hard I work and think, ‘I know I can trust that guy,’” Glenn said.

And as he focuses on the future, for this weekend and beyond, there are two teams that he will always be rooting for.

“Go Warriors and go Hawks!”

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