The Detroit Lions and New York Jets will square off at Ford Field in Week 3, as Jets head coach Aaron Glenn returns to Ford Field for the first time since his days as the Lions defensive coordinator. After a disappointing initial season in New York, Glenn revamped his coaching staff and roster, and the early returns are promising.
“(We) have a pretty good idea about this opponent, their style, what they’re about,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of the Jets. “Got a tremendous amount of respect for (Jets Head Coach Aaron Glenn) AG. Somebody very close to me, and I know what he’s about. This is not the same team as it was last year. It was about building it from the ground up, and they’re in year two. They’re much more talented. They play hard. They have an identity.”
Let’s take a closer look at the Jets’ coaching staff, the scheme they run, and scouting notes from their last two games, along with a few previously viewed games in 2025.
Jets head coach: Aaron Glenn
NFL coaching seasons: Entering 13th season
Head coaching seasons: Entering second season
Defensive coordinator: Four seasons (Lions 2021-24)
Influences: Dan Campbell (Culture), Bill Parcells (Culture), Sean Payton (Culture), Al Groh (mentor)
Coached under: Campbell, Payton, Dennis Allen, Mike Pettine
NFL seasons as a player: 16 seasons (Jets, Texans, Cowboys, Jaguars, Saints)
Played under: Essentially a Mount Rushmore of defensive minds —Parcells, Allen, Groh, Bill Belichick, Dom Capers, Vic Fangio, Mike Zimmer, Jack Del Rio, Herm Edwards, Pete Carroll
Play caller: Yes
Dan Campbell on Aaron Glenn:
“When things go well, that’s one thing. When things get a little rocky, that’s where you really find out what your conviction in something is and in someone, and solving issues, confidence in themselves, the ability to teach, the response of the players. […] AG checked all those boxes, and you’ve got to look through all the other stuff and really look at the substance behind it.”
Offensive coordinator: Frank Reich
NFL coaching seasons: Entering 19th season
Head coaching seasons: 6 seasons (Colts 2018-22, Panthers 2023)
Offensive coordinator seasons: 5 years as OC (Chargers 2014-15, Eagles 2016-17, Jets 2026)
Previous coaching positions: QB coach, WR coach, Offensive assistant
Influences: Doug Pederson (RPO, aggression), Tony Dungy (Culture), Ken Whisenhunt (run game)
Coached under: Pederson, Dungy, Mike McCoy, Whisenhunt, Jim Caldwell
Coaching staff ties to Detroit: Seth Ryan (Passing game coordinator), Steve Heiden (OL coach), Shawn Jefferson (WR coach)
Offensive scheme
Passing game: Modern Pro-Spread (i.e. Pederson/Andy Reid style)
Running scheme: Balanced; one-on-one inside-man-heavy
Scouting notes:
Traditional North-South offense
Balanced Run/Pass split: 44% to 56% (8th highest run rate in NFL)
Did have big variance dependent on opponent (i.e. 62/38 vs. Titans, but flipped to 38/62 vs. Packers)
Personnel grouping also varied by opponent
11 personnel: 45% vs. Titans; 70% vs. Packers
12: 23% vs. Titans; 14% vs. Packers
13: 18% vs. Titans; 10% vs. Packers
22: 13% vs. Titans; 3% vs. Packers
The personnel groups directly relate to success (on the ground vs. Titans) and game situation (Jets found little success on the ground vs. Packers, which is why they failed to run out the clock in the fourth quarter)
Despite having the 8th highest run percentage in the NFL, their output is just 3.3 yards per carry (28th), and their EPA per run is -0.2 (also 28th)
Biggest reason for rushing struggles: RBs only gain 0.76 yards before contact (24th)
Solid Time-to-Pass (2.76 seconds - 13th) and sack rates (only four sacks allowed), but the OL has given up 33 pressures (28th) — QB Geno Smith has done well to escape pressure
Dan Campbell on Jets’ QB Geno Smith:
“He’s come in here and had some really good games against us, played really good football. And he is doing a good job of this whole thing about them possessing the football and finding completions, taking the shots when they’re there, just playing smart football. Man, he’s doing it. And he’s proving he will sit in the pocket and he’s looking for it. He’s fearless that way; he’s got that. But we cannot let him get out. I mean, if he makes throws in the pocket, then we’ve got to fight the next play. At least we gave ourselves a chance, but if we let him get out of there in the open field and run or find a throw downfield because he broke contain, that’s where that could be problematic.”
Defensive coordinator: Brian Duker
NFL coaching seasons: Entering his 11th season
Defensive coordinator seasons: First
Previous roles: Secondary coach (Dolphins, Lions), Defensive analyst (Ravens, 49ers), Intern (Browns)
Influences: Aaron Glenn (scheme), Dan Campbell (culture), John Harbaugh (scheme)
Coached under: Glenn, Campbell, Harbaugh, Wink Martindale, Anthony Weaver, Mike Macdonald, and Jim O’Neil (Lions safeties coach)
Coaching staff ties to Detroit: Cameron Davis (Assistant DL/OLB coach)
Defensive scheme
Base: 3-4 Base, attacking front
Coverage: Press-Man, balanced safety looks
Scouting notes:
Adaptive front
More of a Ravens-style defense than what Glenn ran last year with the Jets — which was more Lions-esque
Duker’s infuence/backgroud and Glenn adaptability/background show up here
Main principles remain: Physicality, stop-the-run mentality, pressure/blitz on 3rd down
Formation shifts in 2026: Less Base (down from 32% to 21%) and more nickel (up from 65% to 77%)
Coverage shifts in 2026: Less man-cover (down from 33% to 25%) and more zone (up from 65% to 73%)
Coverage philosophy shift: Less reliance on single high (Cover-1, -3); even split with 2-high shells
Man coverage in 2026: Cover-0 (5%), Cover-1 (16%), Cover-2 man (4%)
Zone coverage in 2026: Cover 2 (35%), Cover-3 (18%), Cover-4 (6%), Cover-6 (13%)
Blitz rate in 2026: around 30%
Yards allowed per game: 197 total (best in NFL)
Yards allowed per play: 3.2 average (2nd)
Jets defense in Base vs. run: -0.48 EPA (best in NFL)
Jets defense in Subpackage vs. run: 0.13 EPA (19th)
What does that mean? Deploy a lot of 11 personnel, keep them in nickel, run against nickel
DL “get off” the snap: 0.71 seconds (best in NFL)
Time to pressure: 2.69 seconds (21st)
What does that mean: Jets DL is elite off the snap but struggles to shed blocks once engaged
Sacks: Six (ninth)
Pressures: 26 (13th)
Dan Campbell on Jets’ defense:
“I know enough to know that (Glenn) AG’s got a Rolodex of looks and pressures and he’s got it all and coverage disguises. So, we kind of got to be prepared for everything.”