A five-win showing in 2024 led to a shakeup on the Jets’ sideline last offseason. After firing head coach Robert Saleh during the season and finishing the campaign with interim choice Jeff Ulbrich, the team hired Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as its full-time sideline leader.
The Jets weren’t expected to push for a playoff spot this year, but at 3-11 under Glenn, they’re on a worse pace than last season. There has been some question about Glenn’s job security as a result. He’s not going anywhere, though, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.
A Glenn firing “was never under consideration,” writes Russini, who adds that agents around the NFL are operating as if the organization will stay the course. The Woody Johnson-owned franchise is exercising patience with Glenn during a rebuild.
Glenn, a former Jets defensive back, rejoined the club just a few days before the late-January hiring of general manager Darren Mougey. They’re now attempting to restore relevance to a franchise that hasn’t qualified for the postseason since 2010.
Knowing the Jets wouldn’t contend in the near term, the new regime made a couple of significant talent-dumping deals ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline. They shipped off their two best defensive players, cornerback Sauce Gardner (Colts) and D-tackle Quinnen Williams (Cowboys). Those swaps netted Glenn and Mougey major assets for the future.
Gardner brought back two first-round picks and second-year wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, who has played better since arriving in New York. The Colts were fighting for the top spot in the AFC at the time. They’ve plummeted from 7-1 to 8-6, though, and are now unlikely to make the playoffs. That’s great news for the Jets.
Williams cost the Cowboys a 2026 second, a 2027 first, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Despite going in the first round in 2023, Smith was a bust in Dallas, and he has been a non-factor for the Jets. Even if he doesn’t evolve into a contributor, the picks could prove crucial in a potential turnaround.
With Gardner and Williams gone, the Jets are unsurprisingly worse off in the here and now. Despite the presence of a defensive-minded head coach, that unit has looked especially rough of late. After the Jets yielded a combined 82 points in losses to the Dolphins and Jaguars over the past two weeks, Glenn fired coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday. Glenn will have to decide whether to turn the reins over to pass game coordinator Chris Harris, who’s succeeding Wilks on an interim basis, or choose someone else in the offseason.
Glenn will also have a say in the quarterback position next year. That will be the most important offseason business for the Jets, whose 2026 starter likely isn’t on the roster. The move to sign Justin Fields to a two-year, $40MM contract with $30MM in guarantees last offseason has proven to be a misfire for the team’s new leadership. Fields, whom the Jets benched last month, probably won’t be back next season. Veteran backup Tyrod Taylor is a pending free agent, and it’s unlikely undrafted rookie Brady Cook is the answer.
With the Jets boasting enviable draft capital, including the current fifth and 18th overall picks in 2026, they could welcome a prized rookie passer into the fold next year. Mougey has scouted top QB prospects Fernando Mendoza (Indiana’s Heisman Trophy winner) and Dante Moore (Oregon) in person. Either could wind up playing for Glenn in 2026.