Despite the worst start for a first-year coach in franchise history, the New York Jets are not out on Aaron Glenn.
When speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the NFL’s fall league meeting, Jets owner Woody Johnson gave a vote of confidence for Glenn to remain in his position. A big reason for that is how he has witnessed his coach carry himself.
“I do believe in Aaron,” Johnson said. “I’ve known Aaron since 1996 -- I was a fan, I’ve always been a fan of him. I see the way he handles a room. If I were a player, I would respond to him because he’s the real deal. No BS, there’s no second agendas. What you’re hearing is the truth, and a lot of times players don’t get the truth. They get a lot of gobbledygook.”
Glenn, who left his role as the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator to take over in New York, is off to an 0-7 start. To add to the misery, the Jets remain the NFL’s only winless team. However, this is familiar territory for the franchise, as they started 0-7 twice before (1996 and 2020).
Another reason Johnson continues to have faith in Glenn is the Jets’ quarterback situation.
Heading into a recent loss against the Carolina Panthers, Justin Fields started all six games for the Jets under center, with Glenn scoffing at the notion of benching him. However, after a first half of poor play, Glenn eventually benched Fields in favor of veteran backup Tyrod Taylor.
Taylor didn’t fare much better, going 10-of-22 for 126 yards with no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 25.9 passer rating.
“It looks like he’s starting to turn some things around,” Johnson said of Glenn. “You know, it’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we’ve got. He has the ability, but something is just not jiving. But if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you’re going to see similar results across the league. You have to play consistently at that position, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
Johnson followed up by citing where he feels the team is doing a solid job.
“I just think defense, special teams are doing better,” the owner said. “Defense is pretty good. If we could just complete a pass, it would look good. We got to complete some passes.”
While Fields didn’t have an interception over his six starts, he still completed only 63.7 percent of his passes for 845 yards with four touchdowns.
Glenn has two somewhat realistic chances to pick up his first win as coach over the Jets’ next two games.
On Sunday, they’ll head to Cincinnati to face the Bengals, who are still finding their way under veteran Joe Flacco, filling in for the injured Joe Burrow. After their bye week, they’ll host a Cleveland Browns team on Nov. 9, a franchise that is also dealing with its own quarterback issues.
Fortunately for Glenn, he still has ownership’s support as he navigates his first-year struggles.
“I hug him every day. I do. I say, ‘Keep the faith, man,’” Johnson said.
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