At this time last year, good luck finding New York Jets fans who’d have known whether an Aaron Glenn-Curt Cignetti comparison was a good thing.
It’s amazing what a national championship can do.
Cignetti quickly propelled Indiana into the national consciousness even before the Hoosiers pulled off an incredible national championship run.
Indiana proved to be a de facto pipeline for the Jets, who selected Hoosiers receiver Omar Cooper Jr. and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds during April’s draft.
Speaking on “The Official Jets Podcast” earlier this week, Cooper said he felt a sense of familiarity when meeting Glenn.
"I was like, ‘You know, you kind of sound like Cig when he first came in [at Indiana],’” Cooper said.
Jets fans should love Omar Cooper Jr.’s praise for Aaron Glenn
Cignetti has won wherever he’s been, starting with his six seasons at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The Crimson Hawks went 53-17 from 2011-16 and reached the Division II playoffs three times.
Cignetti subsequently went 14-9 at FCS Elon and 52-9 at James Madison, overseeing the latter’s transition into the FBS level.
Cignetti led Indiana to 11-2 and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. Then came last year’s championship, which even landed him a spot on the “College Football 27” cover.
But above all else, Cignetti proved that he could win regardless of the level or the resources around him.
If Cooper sees something similar in Glenn, the Jets are in excellent hands.
Consider the Jets’ overall situation. They’ve assembled an intriguing young core even after trading Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams.
Garrett Wilson’s resume speaks for itself, even if the national media thinks otherwise. Breece Hall is fresh off his first 1,000-yard season.
And while the Jets still don’t have a franchise quarterback, they’ve gradually created a genuine sense of optimism, albeit a faint one.
I’ve personally been critical of Glenn, and I was admittedly against him getting a second season.
Cynically, you could argue that Cooper is just offering PR-friendly answers about a coach who will help determine how many targets he gets.
But if Cooper is going out of his way to levy such extensive praise on Glenn, that must mean something.
You don’t need to know all 32 starting quarterbacks to understand how quickly wins can change a narrative.
Cooper saw that up close at Indiana, which maximized the transfer portal and an understanding of the current college sports climate to immediately win under Cignetti.
Glenn might not have the portal, but he has a young roster looking to prove itself. Cooper and Ponds certainly know how things can go when everything comes together.
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