The comments made by Aaron Glenn seem like a shot at the previous New York Jets regime.
“Here is the first thing that I want to make sure I get across is I don’t want to collect players, I want to build a football team. I think there is a huge difference. What I mean by that, I just don’t want to get a group of athletes in here and say let’s go play football. There is a purpose for every person that is brought into this building, and there is a reason they’re in this building,” Glenn said on “The Offseason: Chapter 1” via One Jets Drive.
“That goes the same for the coaches [and] it goes with the same for anybody that is a part of what we are doing. I want to make sure this is a very intentional process and every player that is brought into this building and there is a reason why he is here. They have to fit exactly what we are trying to create, and that’s why I say I don’t want to just collect players, I want to build a team. That is what we are in the process of doing,” Glenn added.
Loved this quote from #Jets HC Aaron Glenn on roster construction:
‘I don’t want to collect players, I want to build a football team. I think there’s a huge difference. What I mean by that is I don’t just want to get a group of athletes in here & say let’s go play football.… pic.twitter.com/5Vq1nT3osT
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) May 14, 2025
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The previous regime was accused of just collecting talent during their roster construction as opposed to building a football team.
2024 Jets Simply Collected Talent, Didn’t Build a Team
Last offseason, the sixth year for general manager Joe Douglas and the fourth year for Robert Saleh, the pressure was on. The moves they made spoke to that.
“In the span of 19 days in March, wide receiver Mike Williams, pass rusher Haason Reddick, right tackle Morgan Moses, and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor were brought in as the organization pushed its win-now mantra,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini said on July 9, 2024. “The big names came at discounted prices because of age (between 30 and 35) and recent injuries, meaning there’s a level of risk. If they play well and get the Jets into late January, general manager Joe Douglas will be an Executive of the Year candidate. If the plan backfires, it will conjure up comparisons to the Philadelphia Eagles’ infamous ‘Dream Team’ — the 2011 squad that finished a disappointing 8-8 with several high-profile free agents.”
The Jets also signed future Pro Football Hall of Famer Tyron Smith that same offseason. A few weeks into the season, the Jets made a splashy trade for superstar wide receiver Davante Adams.
The Jets just collected a pile of talent, which earned them national praise, headlines, top roster rankings, and promises of a Super Bowl. What the organization failed to do was build a team.
Glenn Is Taking a Different Approach
Glenn is choosing to zig while past regimes have zagged. Does that guarantee success? Absolutely not. However, it is different.
“Listen, I’m just a huge believer in just moving in silence, and you let things play out the way they need to play out. I think our staff has done a really good job of that, just overall. Let’s just make the moves we need to make. This doesn’t need to be a big hoopla with what we’re doing,” Glenn told the media at the Annual League Meetings via Eric Allen.
Moving in silence? That would be difficult to do with any NFL team, let alone the Jets in New York.
Yet that is the hill Glenn is willing to die on.
Gone are the big-name distractions like Aaron Rodgers, Reddick, Smith, Williams, and Adams. When you lose star players like that, inherently, you’re less talented as a roster than you were the year before.
However, Glenn strongly believes that better coaching can make a difference in wins and losses. That theory will be tested in 2025.
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