Last year, there was a lot of excitement and anticipation as Aaron Rodgers was returning under center, and it was supposed to be a great Jets season. The hope was that Rodgers was the missing piece to get the Jets over the hump under the Robert Saleh/Joe Douglass regime. Unfortunately, a torn Achilles ruined the first season after four plays, but seeing a player like Aaron Rodgers suit up in a Jets uniform was still enough excitement to give Jets fans heading into the 2024-25 season. In the end, the next season was an utter disaster, as Saleh was fired after week 5, Joe Douglas was fired after week 11, and the team watched an upset Garrett Wilson and an aging Aaron Rodgers, resulting in a draining 5-12 season.
It hasn’t been easy being a New York Jets fan over the past decade and a half, as the Jets’ last playoff game was in 2011. Despite not making the playoffs since Mark Sanchez was the QB, somehow, fans are still spending their Sundays giving their time and energy to Gang Green. Some fans ask, though, what is there to be excited for this season? Well, I’m here to tell you, there is a lot to look forward to this season.
Aaron Glenn comes over from Detroit, where he was a key factor in changing the energy and culture in the Lions Organization under head coach Dan Campbell.
The best part about Glenn is his familiarity with the organization. Glenn was selected 12th overall out of Texas A&M and played for them from 1994-2001. He’s been through a fair share of losing as he played through the Rich Kotite years, but he’s also experienced winning with the Jets. Glenn was able to see success as he was almost one win away from the Super Bowl in ’98, if not for John Elway and the Denver Broncos. Playing under Bill Parcells, Glenn was able to experience how a winning team operates. Glenn has seen the Jets in success and turmoil, so one of his goals will be to bring the Jets back to that same success he’s experienced with the organization.
A lot of that success comes with accountability, leadership, and discipline. Something that wasn’t shown under the Saleh/Douglass regime. Starting his tenure by releasing Aaron Rodgers set the tone of how Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn want to run the team. As in, there’s no “I” in the team, which is the culture that was established in Detroit.
Leading up to the regular season, the off-season workouts and past training camps have been different as they are more intense and more football-based. Bringing out the Oklahoma drills and having a players’ run practice shows the examples of accountability and change of energy.
It took two years for Detroit to establish its culture, and it paid off for them really well. The Jets have somewhat of a put-together roster, so it might be a quicker rebuild than we think. But in the end, it’ll be fun watching them go through the growing pains, but also fun seeing some success this season, due to the roster having a great young core of players.
**Sauce and Garrett are Here to Stay**
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Going into this season, Jets fans should feel relieved knowing that two of their star young players have been extended. So, there won’t be any drama or headaches throughout the media, and the Jets can focus on winning. [Sauce Gardner](https://www.jetnation.com/new-york-jets-roster-players/) and Garrett Wilson have both been locked down.
Jets fans are scared from the Jamal Adams diabolical, who was thought to be a cornerstone franchise player for the Jets, demanded his way out of the organization as he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for two first-round picks in the summer of 2020. Over the next few years, the Jets have done better at locking up their homegrown players, and re-signing Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner to big paydays proves that.
After watching the Micah Parsons situation unfold in Dallas, it goes to show how much of a headache it is to have contract talks be one of the main focuses of a season. One of the first great moves of Darren Mougey’s tenure so far with the team was extending Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson. Now, the Jets can keep on focusing on winning, while also putting together a competing roster around players like Wilson and Gardner.
**Could Justin Fields be the Answer?**
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Justin Fields has been through a lot in his NFL career. After being viewed as the future of the Chicago Bears, he only lasted three seasons as the Bears’ quarterback, as they thought it would be better to assemble a team around Caleb Williams instead. The Bears traded Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he can sit back and work on himself as a player under the Steelers’ coaching staff, along with learning from QB Russell Wilson. While Russell Wilson missed the first six games, Fields led the Steelers to a 4-2 record and impressed at the position, showing progression of improvement in his play. Mike Tomlin still went to Russell Wilson when he was deemed healthy to play. Many question the move as Fields showed enough promise to still hold the starting QB job. Regardless, it still benefited Fields in the long run to sit back and watch under the Steelers’ coaching staff, which has one of the most competent staffs in the league. Fast forward to now, Fields finds his way as the New York Jets’ starting QB. Fields not only has the opportunity to revive his NFL career, but could also find his way to be the answer to the Jets’ QB position.
Darren Mougey has stated that Fields has the potential to follow in the footsteps of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. QBS who were abandoned by their franchises were almost afterthoughts in the league, but somehow managed to salvage their careers, getting fresh starts in the right environments.
The Jets, however, are not known for being the best destination for QBs to go, especially if they want to revive their careers. But, under this new coaching staff coming over from Detroit, that narrative could change. We’ll see how the Aaron Glenn effect takes place in Florham Park, as the expectation from the AG effect is a stable and less dysfunctional environment. Hopefully, Tanner Engstrand can bring stability to the offense that’s struggling to score points and execute in the red zone. Detroit’s offense last year was one of the most high-powered offenses in the league last year. It’ll be exciting and intriguing to see how Engstrand plans to transfer that over to the Jets, and how it’ll impact Fields’ play.
If Fields plays exceptionally well, then the QB position will have less to worry about in the next off-season. Fields is playing with his career essentially on the line, so he’ll look to make as much of an impact as he can. If that happens, this could be a Jets season to remember.