Jets' Aaron Glenn eagerly awaits NFL head-coaching debut: 'It's going to be special'
New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn. Credit: Noah K. Murray
Aaron Glenn wouldn’t bite and reveal the emotions that he might be feeling when he walks out of the tunnel at Lambeau Field for his first game as an NFL head coach on Saturday night. But he divulged one thing.
“I know it’s going to be special. I know it is,” the Jets’ coach said. “I’ve already talked about this, just how grateful I am to be the head coach of this team. I just know it’s going to be special.”
The Jets will begin their three-game preseason schedule against the Packers, and Glenn already has said he will play his starters. He wouldn’t say how much, however, only that the game will dictate that.
It’s important to Glenn that the Jets show what he has been instilling through the first three weeks of training camp, which has included live tackling periods.
New quarterback Justin Fields, who has been up and down in camp, will get to work out some of the kinks that have stalled the offense. The first-team defense will get to see if it can shut down Green Bay in the same way it has the Jets’ offense in practice.
If you ask the starters, they are thrilled that Glenn decided to let them play.
“I love football,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “I’m obsessed with football. Any chance that I get to play, I’m always going to love the idea of it.”
Saturday is a business trip for Glenn and his players, and it will be followed by four straight games at MetLife Stadium. It’s a safe bet that Glenn’s emotions will be different walking out of the MetLife tunnel, especially for the Jets’ regular-season opener on Sept. 7 against Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers.
Being an NFL head coach has been Glenn’s dream. The fact that he’s doing it for the team with which he spent eight seasons after being drafted in 1994 makes it even more meaningful.
Glenn has been pretty open with his feelings about leading this franchise after serving as the Lions’ defensive coordinator for four years and the Saints’ defensive backs coach the five seasons before that.
Glenn said last week that hearing the “J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets” chant at practice “hit me pretty hard.” He’s savoring the moments, but he’s also focused on getting his team ready for the season. This preseason game is another step toward that end.
“Every game has meaning for me,” Glenn said. “I mean, we’re going [out] to win. When I put myself in a situation when it’s win or lose, it means a lot.”
It may seem like coachspeak or bravado, but it’s not. Glenn is a straightforward, passionate coach who makes everything in practice a competition in order to teach the players what it takes to win. He also speaks from experience as a four-time Pro Bowl player in a 15-year NFL career. The players appreciate how he relates to them.
Wide receiver Allen Lazard said getting a chance to play for Glenn was a main reason he restructured his contract and stayed with the Jets.
“It was many things, but a big part of it was that he played not only in the league for a long time but he played for this organization,” Lazard said. “He has a lot of pride and he knows what he was getting himself into by coming in here.
“He wants the challenge, he wants all the noise and all the doubts, and just to prove them wrong. He’s someone that I want to go to war with. The way he’s leading the team is phenomenal.”
Returning to Green Bay has meaning for Lazard, who spent five years with the Packers before signing a four-year, $44 million deal with the Jets in 2023. He said he “absolutely” is looking forward to playing at historic Lambeau again.
“Whether you’re a player, a fan or you just love football,” Lazard said, “there’s just no better venue to go experience a football game.”
Or, perhaps, to play in your first NFL game.
Speedy rookie receiver Arian Smith, who has had some good moments in camp, is excited about his debut.
“It’s going to be surreal, man,” he said. “It’s just like a dream come true. I’m not looking to the stands and getting all googly-eyes. I’m going to try and stay focused and do my same routine that I do every game.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
