Aaron Glenn has a plan to fix the Jets’ culture — it starts with silence

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Aaron Glenn appreciates the sound of silence.

As NFL world fluttered about at the annual league meeting this week — chatter regarding “tush push” bans and Aaron Rodgers’ prolonged flirtation with the Pittsburgh Steelers — Glenn floated through the bustling common areas of the Breakers hotel unencumbered by controversy or distraction. Two years ago, all anyone wanted to know was when the New York Jets were finally going to trade for Rodgers. Now, few around the league seem to care about the Jets and what they’re doing — even if owner Woody Johnson can’t help but create a “bogus” headline or two.

This is all by Glenn’s grand design, a desire for an organization oft-mocked for its dysfunction to fly under the radar for once. Johnson and the various general managers and head coaches who have come through over the years have often sought out headlines. Glenn — at least for now — prefers to avoid them.

This is a new era of Jets football, an organization being built in the image of one of their own, a former first-round pick and Pro Bowl player who climbed up the coaching ladder just in time to return when the organization needed him most. If the Jets are going to find their way back to relevance, it will start with Glenn. By all accounts, Johnson and the entire organization is following his lead in an attempt to fix a culture that hasn’t been described in a positive light over the years.

“This doesn’t need to be a big hoopla of what we’re doing,” Glenn said on Monday. “We just need to go about our business and coach these players and try to create an atmosphere for the players that’s totally different from what they’ve been used to, and that’s something I want to create … I want to move in silence, man, and just go about our business and win some games. You don’t win in the offseason anyway. I know everybody has these free agency grades, grades on the draft, and when you go back and look at them, they don’t really mean crap. So the only thing that makes a difference is what you do during the season.”

The Jets have tried various styles of head coach — the players’ coach (Robert Saleh), the offensive innovator (Adam Gase), the defensive stalwart (Todd Bowles), the rah-rah disciplinarian (Rex Ryan). Glenn is all of that and he is none of that. He’s a builder. And his plan is to fix the Jets by building brick by brick.

“In my opinion you have to be able to do what you need to do to build it from the ground up,” said Lions head coach Dan Campbell. “AG has been around some phenomenal coaches — and I’m not talking about me — but Bill Parcells, Sean Payton, and this guy gets it. He’s been around the best at building and sustaining. So you need a leader, man, and you need a guy who can hold people accountable. I’m talking about top down, (a guy who) has a vision for where you want to go — and he’s got every bit of that. As long as he’s got support, AG will turn that thing around. There’s no question. He’s an unbelievable leader, an even better person and he’s the type of guy that makes people want to rally around him.”

The Jets had a quiet free agency, adding a class of signees almost entirely made up of under-30 players. Quarterback Justin Fields was the team’s “splash” signing, a dynamic former first-round pick, but he was a backup for most of last season. Cornerback Brandon Stephens allowed the second-most passing yards in coverage of any defensive back last season. Safety Andre Cisco forced zero turnovers in 2024 after forcing five in 2023. Defensive end Rashad Weaver has zero sacks since 2022. Wide receiver Josh Reynolds only played in nine games last season. Defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi barely played for the Chiefs last year after many years as a starter.

The Jets never seriously pursued any of the highest-priced free agents in this class — Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey believe that’s not the right way to go about the offseason. Instead, they shopped for younger players with something to prove.

“It’s a young man’s game,” Glenn said. “I was always taught that you can’t be afraid of the young player. I think what you’re able to do is you’re able to mold these guys into who you want them to be and what type of team you want to be.”

The Jets’ offseason was an investment in Glenn, his staff, and their belief that they can get the most out of anyone with talent worth developing.

“That’s what we do as coaches: develop,” Glenn said. “I think the No. 1 trait you look for in a coach is being able to teach, the second is being able to develop. I tell our staff: I want the free agents to play like draft picks. I want our third-round picks to play like first-round picks. I want our first-round picks to wear a gold jacket at some point. And that’s the job of coaches. I hold that to a very high standard with every coach I have. That’s one of the things I vet out about every coach — how do they develop? Because that’s what coaching is: teaching and developing. Every player that we have is not going to be ready made, and that’s OK. We look forward to that.”

Glenn is trying to create a culture, a new one. Saleh created one designed to let the players lead themselves; it didn’t work. No player is the face of the New York Jets anymore, Glenn is. The goal is to keep the problems of the past — namely, the lack of accountability from the top down — in the past.

Glenn is leading that charge now.

“If you pull up anything he’s done here and just watch him, this guy is an unbelievable teacher, he’s a motivator, he’s all about the details and he’s about accountability,” Campbell said. “If he’s got something on his mind, he’s no different than I am — he’s going to say it. He’s not going to just brush it under the rug, he’s going to let you know. I think that’s important and I think sometimes that gets lost, everybody just assumes if you’re holding people accountable that means you’re being an a–hole. That’s not what that means. It means: I’m telling you I don’t like what you’re doing.”

Glenn has carried that energy behind the scenes too. He has a clearly defined plan, and he isn’t shy about making that clear — whether that’s with a player, a coach, a front office executive or even in conversations with reporters. He’s clear with Johnson too, and that relationship will ultimately decide whether Glenn becomes the coach to turn the Jets around and pull them out of a league-worst 14-year skid without a playoff berth.

So far it’s working. Johnson, by all accounts, has been hands off, his sons aren’t involved in decision-making and Mougey and Glenn have been allowed to create the team in their image.

“If you’ve met with Aaron, you know what he’s going to do,” Johnson said. “You’ve seen his personality. He’s all football, accountability, he’s a very direct person. He’s been a success his whole life and he’s had an amazing career … He’s a different guy. He’s a football player so he’s got that authenticity that you can’t make up. You either are or you aren’t. Leadership comes that way so I’m very impressed with Aaron and if anybody can change anything and get a winning culture it’s Aaron.”

Patience will be a virtue. Most sportsbooks set the Jets’ over/under for wins in 2025 at 5.5, one of the lowest in the NFL, in the same company as the Titans, Browns and Giants, the three worst teams in 2024 record-wise. The 2025 season could get bumpy. But it won’t be the end of the world — or it shouldn’t be, if the Jets stick to Glenn’s plan, if Johnson remains patient.

Next week, the Jets will start voluntary workouts at their facility in Florham Park. Glenn will stand in front of the team — not the entire roster, but much of it — for the first time and lay out his expectations. There will be no talk of wins and losses, of playoffs and Super Bowls. That’s noise.

“I’m not here to talk about the Super Bowl, I’m not here to talk about the playoffs or any of that when the players first get in,” Glenn said. “To me it’s the process of actually making it to that point. Two things I want to make sure that we do first and foremost is establish a culture that we’ve been talking about and try to build an environment … We have a lot of time for scheme, we have time to talk about the Super Bowl and the playoffs, but right now building a culture, building an environment is the most important thing to me.”

Said Campbell: “If he can’t (turn it around) nobody can.”

(Photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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