Al Iannazzone: Let's give Jets coach Aaron Glenn some time this season before burying him
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn looks on before a preseason game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Friday. Credit: Ed Murray
The Jets closed out their preseason schedule on Friday night with a 23-6 loss to the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
That was inconsequential. It didn’t matter if they went 1-2 or 2-1 in the preseason. Aaron Glenn will be judged by what the Jets do starting on Sept. 13 when they face their former coach, Robert Saleh, in Tennessee in Week 1.
One of the worst-kept secrets is that Glenn is coaching for his job this season. Owner Woody Johnson doesn’t want to fire Glenn, with whom he has a good relationship and is paying more than $10 million a year through the 2029 season. Still, Glenn can’t afford another bad start like last year, when the Jets lost their first seven games.
They need to show significant improvement on both sides of the football and play meaningful games in December. Even then, there’s no guarantee that Glenn will return for a third season.
No, we’re not firing him already, even though in some areas of the NFL world, the Glenn Watch already has begun. A report this week said Johnson has begun doing homework on Mike Tomlin.
Sorry. Not buying that.
First of all, no homework needs to be done. Everyone knows the kind of coach Tomlin is. He never had a losing record in 19 years with the Steelers.
Only one question needs to be asked: Is he interested in coaching the Jets? Keep in mind, every team with an opening at head coach will be interested in Tomlin, including some with far more stability than the Jets.
This was the first of many reports and rumors that will come out this season about Glenn and his future. Expect former Bills coach Sean McDermott and current Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell — who was Jets general manager Darren Mougey’s college roommate — to be linked to the Jets as well.
How about this: Let Glenn get through some regular-season games before bringing out the Dead Man Walking speculation.
Glenn did not do a good job last year. His team went 3-14. He sparred with the media. He made numerous in-game and time-management mistakes. He stuck with quarterback Justin Fields and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks too long.
Give Glenn credit for seemingly learning from those many errors.
“When things are not to my liking,” he said, “I’m going to pivot and I’m going to make sure that I make the decisions that get this organization going in the right place.”
Glenn shook up his coaching staff, filled glaring holes on defense and added more veteran leadership. The offensive staff is stronger with coordinator Frank Reich and quarterback coach Bill Musgrave. The Jets brought in Geno Smith, a better and more proven quarterback than Fields.
The big test now will be how Glenn does on game days, especially given that he’s calling the defense. Hiring Reich to run the offense was a huge move that will allow Glenn to focus on the other side of the football. Reich has been a coordinator and head coach, and the players love his offense and the freedom they have in it.
That’s been another difference in Glenn’s second camp. There have been more positive vibes and a stronger belief that he has the Jets heading in the right direction.
Reich believes in Glenn, his former Jets teammate, and wants success for him so badly that he started to get emotional talking about him.
“I’ve been around some really good head coaches — Marv Levy, Tony Dungy and many others,” Reich said. “I just think he’s got all the qualities of a great head coach, I do. I believe in him so much. I love following his lead. I think he sets the tone for the locker room.
“Everything he’s doing, the whole vision, it’s been really good. That’s just how I feel. It’s personal to me. I mean it really is personal to me with him.”
It’s personal for Glenn, too. It has to be. He has heard the rumblings and what’s being said no matter how much he talks about blocking out the outside noise.
Glenn wants to be the coach who leads the Jets to their first playoff berth in 16 years. If he does that, he has to be back.
“I’m excited about where we are,” he said, “I’ll tell you that.”
Let’s put the Glenn Watch on hold and see if all the changes that he made lead to better results when the games matter. If not, we all know how this will end for him.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
