Aaron Glenn, New York Jets
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New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn reacting in the middle of a mandatory minicamp practice.
Aaron Glenn had been preparing to be an NFL head coach long before he landed the New York Jets gig in 2025.
Longtime former NFL offensive coach Todd Haley shared some details about some of his secret meetings with Aaron Glenn.
“He called me in the offseason when he was just a second-year coach with the [New Orleans] Saints. We’d do Zoom calls, like I was talking about with Nick Sirianni, the want to, the desire, for a guy to call me and say let’s spend a couple of hours on Zoom and just talk to me about offense and what you guys think. You knew this guy was up-and-coming, and he was going to have a chance. My father always said, ‘Don’t worry about climbing, don’t worry about the next job, just worry about doing the job you have really well, and things will happen.’ I think Aaron is an example of that,” Haley told Kevin Clark on “This is Football.”
So much good stuff!
Longtime #NFL coach @thetoddhaley told so many great stories about #Jets HC Aaron Glenn to @bykevinclark!
I loved Haley going behind the scenes on some of his secret Zoom calls with AG over the years to talk offensive football.
🎥 ‘This is Football’… pic.twitter.com/HPT9JugGHN
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) June 24, 2025
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“I just think he has been around the right people,” Haley continued. “He has been taught both as a player and a coach by some of the best there are. I mean, whether it’s Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Sean Payton, [and] Dan Campbell – they were teammates together in Dallas.”
Glenn Took It Personally When He Was Labeled a ‘Defensive Coach’
When Glenn was still with the Detroit Lions in 2024 as a defensive coordinator, he took umbrage with people labeling him.
“Here’s the one thing that I would say about myself: I’m a coach. I just happen to be on defense. I understand the offense just as well as a number of people. So if you wanna hire me, you’re going to hire a coach, you aren’t going to hire a defensive coach. I’m going to talk to the offense just as much as I’m going to talk to the defense,” Glenn explained to the Detroit media back on January 15.
For all of the #Jets fans that don’t want to hire Aaron Glenn strictly because he’s a defensive coach, he has a message for you:
‘Here’s the one thing that I would say about myself, I’m a coach. I just happen to be on defense. I understand the offense just as well as a number… pic.twitter.com/wWNJ6Ee2DP
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) January 15, 2025
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Over the last quarter century, the Jets have primarily hired defensive-minded head coaches. The lone exception was Adam Gase, and that didn’t work out particularly well.
Naturally, Glenn and the Jets as a team received a lot of criticism. They hired another defensive guy who just so happened to be a first-time head coach. No experience, and he cut his teeth as a defensive guy?
However, Glenn has explained that he has been preparing for this moment his entire life. Over the last decade, Glenn revealed that he has been doing these secret offensive meetings during the offseason so he could be well-versed on both sides of the ball.
Haley shared some unique insights on what that looked like from his perspective on the other end of the Zoom call.
Haley Gives Brutally Honest Takes on Glenn-Jets Combo in 2025 and Beyond
“I was there in New York when Bill came in after Rich Kotite, and it was not pleasant by any means. Throw in there that you’re a young coach trying to prove that you can survive, but Aaron Glenn was there. He saw how coach Parcells transformed a losing group into a winning group,” Haley said.
Parcells was hired to be the head coach of the Jets in 1997. Glenn was in his fourth season in the NFL at the time. Fast forward 28 years, Glenn is now the HC of the NYJ.
“Now he is in the big spot as a head coach. I think he is going to be fine, I mean, will there be growing pains? Absolutely, there always are, but he is a fast learner. He is going to figure it out; you can already see what is happening in New York, he has made it his team. That’s the key having everybody understand you’re gonna put everybody in the best position to succeed. I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight when you’re turning the Titanic around, but I think he is going to get it done,” Haley confidently said.