Aaron Glenn has an important advantage over many of his predecessors with the New York Jets.
“First of all, he knows the owner well,” Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Parcells exclusively told ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “That’s good. That’s very important.”
Glenn, 53, was the No. 12 overall pick in the first round of the 1994 NFL draft. Current Jets owner Woody Johnson didn’t draft Glenn, but he did play for him.
The last two years of Glenn’s tenure in New York overlapped with Mr. Johnson’s ownership of the team in 2000 and 2001. However, in 2002, the Jets didn’t protect Glenn from the NFL’s expansion draft, which opened the door for the Houston Texans to steal him away.
The two were reunited in 2012 and 2013 when Glenn was hired as a personnel scout by the Jets in his post-playing career.
That long history with the team’s owner gives Glenn an inherent advantage, Parcells told Cimini.
“There’s a trust between Glenn and Johnson, something that doesn’t always exist between a coach and an owner. Parcells, who coached four teams and had a famously frosty relationship with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, knows this better than most,” Cimini explained.
Accusations of Ownership Meddling With Previous Jets Regime
The Jets and Denver Broncos were close to striking a deal for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy last offseason.
“Then, abruptly, it all fell apart. In Denver’s executive offices, they couldn’t believe the reason why [Joe] Douglas told the Broncos that Johnson didn’t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy’s player rating in ‘Madden NFL,’ the popular video game, wasn’t high enough, according to multiple league sources. The Broncos ultimately traded the receiver to the Cleveland Browns. Last Sunday, Jeudy crossed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time in his career,” Dianna Russini, Mike Silver, and Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reported.
That wasn’t the first time that Johnson had started to meddle.
Mr. Johnson “suggested” benching Aaron Rodgers “due to poor performance” last year, according to The Athletic. The coaching staff did not acquiesce. However, later in the season, Mr. Johnson “forced” interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich to bench starting safety Tony Adams, The Athletic revealed.
Mr. Johnson’s teenage children were also being included “in some meetings at the team facility,” the Athletic reported.
It Appears That Mr. Johnson Has Had a Change of Heart
Things were rough last year, and the previous regime crashed and burned.
There is a breath of fresh air with head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey running the show in 2025.
At the introductory press conference for Glenn and Mougey, Jets owner Woody Johnson delivered an eyebrow-raising message.
“I have to look in the mirror and be a better owner,” Johnson told the media via Rosenblatt.
Woody Johnson: “I have to look in the mirror and be a better owner.”
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) January 27, 2025
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ESPN’s Rich Cimini told me on “Boy Green Daily” that it was the first time he could remember Johnson ever saying something like that publicly.
Glenn Holds the Sword for the Jets in 2025
It appears that Johnson has placed his trust in Glenn and Mougey, letting them run the ship, for better or for worse.
This is Glenn’s first shot at being a head coach in the NFL. If he flops, it could be his only chance at being a head coach.
ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler told me on “Boy Green Daily” that Glenn wanted this job over any other.
With Mr. Johnson stepping aside, Glenn can run the team the way he wants it run. He has a clear vision, but we won’t know if it works until we see the results of the 2025 season.
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