Only time will tell if Jets got Aaron Glenn hire right — but this feels different

FLORHAM PARK – This wasn’t about being a head coach -- not just that, at least. It wasn’t about the money or the next step in his career, either. Sure, Aaron Glenn wanted that, but it wasn’t the driving force.

This was about the Jets' vacancy. This was about being their next coach. This was about returning to the place where he had unfinished business, pointing directly to the team's loss in the 1998 AFC Championship game, where he started at cornerback.

“I’ll be damned if I’m not going to come back here and get that back,” Glenn said.

Winning or losing a press conference is irrelevant. One thing became abundantly clear after Glenn’s introduction on Monday, though: He’s exactly what the Jets need.

The Jets have been absent from the playoffs for 14 years, the longest drought of any professional sports franchise. They’ve finished nine straight seasons with losing records. They have the second-worst record in the NFL since 2017. They’ve been mocked and ridiculed. They’ve run through general managers, coaches, and quarterbacks. None of whom have made a difference.

They have a losing “gene,” receiver Garrett Wilson said this season. They can’t shake it, no matter how hard they try.

No one knows if a first-time coach will work or not. Glenn is no different. You want to bet on those who eliminate variables, though. The fact Glenn hasn’t done this before is about the only question on his resume.

He’s a former first-round pick who established himself as one of the game’s best defenders with three Pro Bowl selections. He retired and then wanted back in as a coach. He called his mentor, legendary coach Bill Parcells, who told him to scout. Glenn now says it was among the most sound advice he’s ever received.

Glenn knows how to evaluate players from his years on the road. He spent some time with the Cleveland Browns as an assistant, and then trained under Sean Payton as the New Orleans Saints' defensive backs coach.

The Detroit Lions then brought Glenn aboard as their defensive coordinator. He, teamed with head coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, turned a league-wide laughing stock into an NFL powerhouse in just four years.

That’s why Glenn was a top coaching candidate in this cycle. He became the Jets' first choice because he understands this franchise.

He understands what comes with being a part of the Jets. He understands New York and everything that comes with it. He wants, more than anything else, to return this success-starved franchise to a reign of sustained success not seen since Glenn was a player under Parcells.

“Put your freaking seat belt on and get ready for the ride,” said Glenn, alluding toward the rocky road associated with winning in this league. “We’re the freaking New York Jets. We’re built for this s--t."

Glenn’s work is already underway. This is Day 1, he said. He’s in the process of piecing together his staff. Sources told SNY his top target for defensive coordinator is Steve Wilks, along with Nick Caley for offensive coordinator. Glenn said he won’t call the defense. He wants to be the head coach. So it’s important to him to find lieutenants helping on those sides of the ball.

Once the staff is in place, they’ll turn their attention to evaluating the roster with new general manager Darren Mougey. Their top decision will center around Aaron Rodgers, and whether or not they want him back for the 2025 season.

The 41-year-old quarterback is mulling retirement. The Jets haven’t shut the door on him returning for a third season, but Glenn made it clear things are different now.

The Jets catered so much to Rodgers in his first two years with the team. They ran his offense, brought in the players he wanted, and bent to whatever he believed he needed or told them he wanted. That will no longer be the case.

“This is not about Aaron Rodgers,” Glenn explained on Monday. “This is about the roster.”

As it should be. The Jets were stepped on and taken advantage of for far too long. That will not be the case under Glenn. He’s a former player. He understands things from a player’s perspective. He’s not like former coaches Todd Bowles and Jeff Ulbrich, though. He’s nothing like Robert Saleh.

Accountability and discipline will be the pillars of Glenn's tenure with the Jets, which he hopes will be the final job of his career.

“You can’t write a better story than that,” he said.

There’s reason for skepticism on whether this will work. The Jets have made nothing but wrong moves during this historical run of ineptitude.

They stuck with Rex Ryan too long. They misaligned Bowles and former general manager Mike Maccagnan. They never should have hired Adam Gase. Saleh wasn’t the right coach at the right time. Joe Douglas’ wrongdoings as Maccagnan's successor outweighed everything he did right.

That’s why proclamations based on estimations feel hollow. You’ll know if Glenn is the right man for this job if he takes those pieces Mougey acquires, those already here, and turns the Jets into a winner. No one, at this point, knows.

But one thing’s for sure: This time it sounds a little different. This time it looks a little different. This time it feels a little different.

This time feels right.