A five-win showing in 2024 led to a shakeup on the Jets’ sideline last offseason. After firing head coach Robert Saleh during the season and finishing the campaign with interim choice Jeff Ulbrich, the team hired Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as its full-time sideline leader.
The Jets weren’t expected to push for a playoff spot this year, but at 3-11 under Glenn, they’re on a worse pace than last season. There has been some question about Glenn’s job security as a result. He’s not going anywhere, though, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.
A Glenn firing “was never under consideration,” writes Russini, who adds that agents around the NFL are operating as if the organization will stay the course. The Woody Johnson-owned franchise is exercising patience with Glenn during a rebuild.
Glenn, a former Jets defensive back, rejoined the club just a few days before the late-January hiring of general manager Darren Mougey. They’re now attempting to restore relevance to a franchise that hasn’t qualified for the postseason since 2010.
Knowing the Jets wouldn’t contend in the near term, the new regime made a couple of significant talent-dumping deals ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline. They shipped off their two best defensive players, cornerback Sauce Gardner (Colts) and D-tackle Quinnen Williams (Cowboys). Those swaps netted Glenn and Mougey major assets for the future.
Gardner brought back two first-round picks and second-year wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, who has played better since arriving in New York. The Colts were fighting for the top spot in the AFC at the time. They’ve plummeted from 7-1 to 8-6, though, and are now unlikely to make the playoffs. That’s great news for the Jets.
Williams cost the Cowboys a 2026 second, a 2027 first, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Despite going in the first round in 2023, Smith was a bust in Dallas, and he has been a non-factor for the Jets. Even if he doesn’t evolve into a contributor, the picks could prove crucial in a potential turnaround.
With Gardner and Williams gone, the Jets are unsurprisingly worse off in the here and now. Despite the presence of a defensive-minded head coach, that unit has looked especially rough of late. After the Jets yielded a combined 82 points in losses to the Dolphins and Jaguars over the past two weeks, Glenn fired coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday. Glenn will have to decide whether to turn the reins over to pass game coordinator Chris Harris, who’s succeeding Wilks on an interim basis, or choose someone else in the offseason.
Glenn will also have a say in the quarterback position next year. That will be the most important offseason business for the Jets, whose 2026 starter likely isn’t on the roster. The move to sign Justin Fields to a two-year, $40MM contract with $30MM in guarantees last offseason has proven to be a misfire for the team’s new leadership. Fields, whom the Jets benched last month, probably won’t be back next season. Veteran backup Tyrod Taylor is a pending free agent, and it’s unlikely undrafted rookie Brady Cook is the answer.
With the Jets boasting enviable draft capital, including the current fifth and 18th overall picks in 2026, they could welcome a prized rookie passer into the fold next year. Mougey has scouted top QB prospects Fernando Mendoza (Indiana’s Heisman Trophy winner) and Dante Moore (Oregon) in person. Either could wind up playing for Glenn in 2026.
After the Jets yielded a combined 82 points in losses to the Jets and Jaguars over the past two weeks, Glenn fired coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday.
So bad their beating themselves
Thanks for catching that. It’s fixed.
I think it would be a mistake to dismiss Glenn so soon. I’ve had many issues with year 1 of his tenure, but I believe he has it in him to figure it out and be a successful CEO-style HC.
I have a lot less confidence in Mougey. Great job getting all those 1s, but I have little faith that he’ll draft and develop well.
Sometimes it works, see New England. Although they’re also a competent franchise who drafted a good QB.
Jets have the worst coaches in the history of professional sports. In the sports capital of the world, look at the awful managers and head coaches we have in New York.
From google: That coach was Hue Jackson, who went 3-36-1 in just over two seasons…
I’d say Hue was worse.
Make that “the sportsball capital of Murica, F#&k Yeah!”
There are more pro soccer clubs in London than there are sportsball teams in Nooyawk. That’s counting both men’s and women’s teams.
i think your evals are backwards. mougey did a solid job in the draft last year and did well enough at the deadline. glenn took this team multiple steps backwards despite coming in saying all he needs to do is coach these guys and the team would succeed now
@bengamin- He did a solid job in the first two rounds, which is the bare minimum. Thomas has showed very little promise as a 3rd. He completely wasted a 4th rounder on a WR who was supposed to go in the 7th or be a UDFA. He traded up for Baron, who was a massive reach. Mauigoa is awful.
Don’t even get me started on his free agency decisions and paying money to the correct players, but that’s a different point.
I think keeping him is an issue. This could be seen from a mile away this disaster. no offense to Glenn, he’s a good coordinator, but he really benefitted from that Detroit personnel and their head coach. he’s simply not ready to be a head coach and many of his decisions have shown.
sure he doesn’t have a great roster to deal with, but good coaches can be competitive even with some lesser talent. the jets have simply not been competitive this year.
Glenn’s demeanor and treatment of his veteran holdovers should play into this, right? It’s always best to respect your team leaders as a new coach, but if you’re eager to dump them or use them as pawns to advance your preached style, you need to deliver results (I’m referring to Williams and Rodgers, in particular).
Gonna go ahead and assume this is evidence that we’re gonna tank again next year for a 2027 QB. What’s one more year as a Jets fan? It’s not like we’re used to ever seeing a viable football team.
yeah. it’s crazy to keep a defense minded coach who’s out of his element when you are planning to draft a qb.
this tells me the jets maybe are thinking that with potentially Tua and Kyler available, they may make a play in the trade market instead of draft.
It would be weird to fire him after one year without a quarterback answer, trading away two of their three best players, and having the third one injured much of the year, and they’re currently down to an undrafted rookie quarterback. The team has kept playing hard for him even after the trades and injuries. What was he supposed to do, contend? The offensive line is developing into a very good unit. Mason Taylor and Adonai Mitchell have flashed. The special teams unit has been fantastic. If they don’t trade any of them to move up, they’ll have four picks in the top 50 this year. Let this situation develop a bit before scapegoating the head coach for a season that was never going to be pretty.
you and I are watching two different jets franchises when you say they are playing hard.
The team has two of its three wins after trading away two of its three best players and only having the other one for part of one game. They’ve also had excellent special teams. So it’s far from a team that’s quit.
There should be a mercy rule for how many coaches a team can fire in a decade. Maybe limit them to three and thay have to keep the last one until the time limit expires?
Good thing cause Cam Newton and Ryan Clark woulda played the race card if he only got 1 year
Anytime you hire a coordinator as a first time HC, there should be a reason for it, something special about the candidate. What was special about Glenn? He was an average DC. But as a career DC, you shouldn’t have one of the worst defenses in the league, which the Jets did, even before the trades. Saleh’s D was much better. Not sure if Glenn had any input on signing Fields, but any armchair fan would’ve told you Fields was a really bad choice. If they’re gunning for a 1st RD QB next draft, who will develop him? Not Glenn, and that first year OC they have is an unknown. What’s their game plan for the division? How will they stack up vs NE and BUF? I don’t see any future for them with what they have now, or what they may draft.
If I’m Mendoza I’m not taking the chance to get picked by the jets so I’d stay in school another year. It’s career suicide for a QB to be picked by this dumpster fire of a franchise. It’s just not worth it
Giants might have the #1 pick and they’re not drafting a QB, so it might not be an easy decision for Mendoza. Anyone could trade up. Plus, even if Mendoza stays in school another year, there’s no guarantee that the Jets or Raiders wouldn’t be picking #1 in 2027.
They’re lining up to get Mendoza and hopefully show basic competency in free agency.
Glenn is probably a HOF coach compared to Rich Kotite 🙂
Or Gase
Make that “compared to Ben McAdoo, Joe Judge, or Brian Daboll”.
The Jets just don’t get it. You use a coach who has a history to rebuild and change a culture. See Mike Vrabel. To change a culture you win more than you did the previous year. If this were an experienced coach you know that as long as the effort is there you’re good. An inexperienced coach who loses more than the last year and whose players quit is a problem. Next year they’ll be looking for a new . What a disaster.
I doubt the Jets would be doing much better with Vrabel as HC because the problem is at the top. Bad ownership will always defeat good intentions by those lower on the ladder.
Did you think they were getting 6+ wins out of Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor? Not to mention once Wilson went down. It’s mildly surprising they even have 3 wins
Vrabel was a proven winner in Nashville. He and Derrick Henry were cut loose because the Titans cleaned house amid a losing season. Titans haven’t been competitive since.
Vrabel took over a Titans team that had back to back 9-7 seasons while Glenn took over a Jets team that has had double digit loses the 5 previous seasons. Big difference there.
The Jets, like a dog chasing it’s tail?
Pathetic