Aaron Glenn has a new job. The New York Jets have brought in new blood to hopefully revitalize their team and end the longest playoff drought in the four major sports. They hired Aaron Glenn who just spent the past four years building and coaching up the defense of the Detroit Lions. Glenn’s passion for the game stems from his 14-year playing career and 11 years coaching at the NFL level. Can he bring the Jets to the level where they can contend not only in the AFC East but be in the mix of Super Bowl contenders?
Aaron Glenn’s coaching history
Glenn is a defensive-minded coach. He has only ever coached on the defensive side of the ball. Glenn was a key fixture of the Lions rebuild helping scout and draft players like Aidan Hutchenson, Brian Branch, and Kirby Joseph. He now goes to a team that has Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, and C.J. Mosley. The questions will be can he bring the culture that turned the Lions around and does he have the offensive experience and skills to turn the offense around after scoring the eight fewest points in 2025?
Passing Attack
The first question we have to ask is who will be the quarterback for the Jets in 2025. Will Aaron Rodgers be swayed by Glenn’s hire to stick around for one more year? Will Glenn and the Jets want the outspoken quarterback back? If it is Rodgers will he have the control over the offense that he is used to with such a defensive-minded coach?
The massive questions at quarterback leave a ton of questions for the pass catchers. Does Davante Adams return? What is Garrett Wilson’s value going forward for your fantasy team? I worry that Glenn either won’t be able to recruit a top offensive coordinator or mesh with Rodgers’s strong personality. If they decide to make a switch and either bring in or draft a new quarterback, the question of what type of system and development Glenn can provide.
I’m off the pass catchers for the Jets. There are too many question marks at this point to trust them. Wilson had a good 2024 finishing as the WR10 but that comes after two years of being in the 20s. Clearly the system and quarterback matter for his production. Since we don’t know w few factors Wilson’s production is an unknown.
Running Attack
It’s undeniable that the Jets have not one but two talented running backs. Breece Hall should be in the discussion as one of the best backs in the league. They added to that with Braelon Allen who flashed in his limited work in his rookie season.
Glenn is an old-school type of player. His playing style back when he was in the league was hard-nosed. The Lions employed a running game built around smash and speed with David Montgomery and Jamyre Gibbs. Glenn has something close to that in Hall and Allen.
With Glenn’s defensive style, he will be looking to control the field position and the time of possession. You do that in today’s NFL with running the ball. Hall had 209 carries in 2024 and I see that number going up closer to the 250 mark while Allen should easily eclipse his 92 carries and be closer to 150. They should be the focal point of the offense especially if the Jets bring in a rookie quarterback.
Reason for doubt
The biggest reason to doubt is the almost empty cupboard. When Glenn was part of the Lions’ turn around they had Matthew Stafford who they were able to flip into a devy of picks. The Jets currently have their first-round pick this year (7th overall) and their 2nd round pick. They lost their 3rd rounder as part of the Adams trade but do own the Lions pick. The Jets have a few extra day three picks but those rarely pan out. They also have already lost their 2026 3rd rounder due to the Hassan Reddick trade.
With 28 pending free agents and only $15 million in cap space making big moves will be tough. If Rodgers does retire it puts even more financial strain on the team. Can the team retain some of their current roster on the cheap, utilize who is still here, and draft enough day-one playmakers to make a quick or even lasting turnaround remains to be seen? They don’t have the players to trade for strong enough draft picks. While a complete rebuild isn’t needed they may not have the ammo to put the extra pieces in place.
Reason for Hope
Culture. Culture is the reason to have hope for the ever-underachieving Jets. The Detroit Lions were once the laughingstock of the NFL. They brought in Dan Campbell who made Aaron Glenn one of the cornerstones of that team’s culture building.
The Jets are hoping that Glenn brings that to New York. The Jets turnaround probably won’t be overnight but the culture change should be evident right away. Glenn has built a reputation as a no-nonsense type coach and won’t tolerate a lack of effort both in games and on the practice field. That should result in closer games and hopefully a few extra wins.
Getting the most out of his players will be key and he has to battle not only rebuilding but also undoing the damage that has already been done to the current roster. Setting a winning culture will be the first and highest priority for Glenn the moment he steps into the Jets facility.
Quarterback questions hurt Garret Wilson
Hall/Allen = Montgomery/Gibbs
Possible Rodgers retirement or banishment
