A very clear early message has been sent from the New York Jets roster to new head coach Aaron Glenn.
Buy in.
“I give a lot of credit to the players, and I’m not just talking about today or yesterday, but just throughout our whole phases, the amount of guys that have been here [and] the work they have put in. Yesterday, I think we had 100% participation. I think today I have to look at it, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was 100% again,” Glenn said during the first week of OTAs.
“The only thing I do know is man, we have a lot of guys here, all of our guys here, and that tells me one thing, the guys are buying in – they believe. They don’t have to be here because it is not mandatory,” Glenn explained.
The Jets are currently in phase three, which covers these OTAs. From June 10-12, there is a three-day mandatory minicamp, which requires players to be at the facilities. If they don’t show up, they can be fined.
Glenn Was Able to Flip a Leader’s Perspective
On January 22, the Jets officially hired Glenn as their next head coach. A few days later, on January 25, they officially hired general manager Darren Mougey.
The first big decision they had to make as a group was to figure out what to do with Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers was the most decorated quarterback in Jets franchise history the moment he stepped foot into the facilities. He was also among the most popular players. If the team decided to move on from Rodgers, that could cause some ripple effects.
Spoiler alert, it did.
Whispers that the Jets planned on moving on from Rodgers leaked to NFL on FOX Insider Jay Glazer.
Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams aggressively responded on social media to the rumors and shared his displeasure with the team’s decision.
This is what Glenn feared when weighing whether to move on from Rodgers.
The four-time NFL MVP flew to meet the Jets this offseason to determine his future. Rodgers shared nuggets from that conversation during a wide-ranging interview on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
One of those included a conversation between Glenn and Rodgers.
“I don’t want to be in front of the room saying something and have guys look back at you,” Rodgers revealed what Glenn said to him.
“I figured when I flew across country to meet with the Jets there was gonna be a conversation..
We sat down in the office & 20 seconds in the coach said we’re going in a different direction..
That’s totally fine but they could have just told me that on the phone” ~… pic.twitter.com/By7QvLK7tM
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 17, 2025
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When the Jets moved on from Rodgers, Williams initially sided with A-Rod, saying on social media, “Another rebuild year for me I guess 🙄.”
That confirmed Glenn’s fear that Rodgers’ presence could split the locker room as a new voice enters the room.
Glenn eventually spoke with Williams, got on the same page, and all sides were able to squash it. The players have bought into the Glenn regime.
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