FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Glenn met with his New York Jets players ahead of their first practice of the summer and shared a simple goal.
And he did it without using gimmicky catch phrases or emotion-driven words. Glenn is all about business in Year 2 of leading the Jets, who are looking to put a 3-14 season far behind them and hoping to end a 15-year postseason drought.
“We just want to build off the momentum that we actually had in OTAs going into training camp,” Glenn said Wednesday. "So no slogans, no hype speeches. Wanted to set the tone with the players yesterday. And man, we’re ready to improve. And that’s what we’re trying to do."
Glenn's job depends on it.
The former Pro Bowl cornerback returned last year to the team that drafted him in the first round in 1994, looking to lead the Jets back to respectability in his first opportunity as an NFL head coach. Instead, Glenn oversaw one of the worst seasons in team history. Mistakes in decision making, clock management and personnel were among the culprits. So were some of his choices on his coaching staff.
“I think for any head coach, going from Year 1 to Year 2, you see things, I don’t want to say totally different, but man, there are some blind spots that you probably didn’t expect,” Glenn said. “And that’s what every coach and every first-time head coach has told me, that it allows you to go into this year, man, being able to attack those things the right way.”
When it comes to those “blind spots,” Glenn is keeping those to himself, saying it's not fair to him or his team to broadcast any of that. He's doing the same when it comes to his overall message to his players, who have made it clear they're all in on their head coach.
“AG has done a great job of laying out the blueprint for this team and where he wants to take us,” quarterback Geno Smith said. “And it’s our job to bring that into manifestation.”
Added linebacker Demario Davis: “You have 90 men in that locker room who will run through a wall for him.”
Glenn sits firmly on the coaching hot seat as he prepares for the season, knowing improvement — by him and his team — is expected. Or it could be someone else's turn to try to turn this around for the long-suffering franchise.
“Honestly, I think everybody that comes to New York, even though he’s played here before, it’s like you bit off a little more than what you could chew at first, you know what I mean?” running back Breece Hall said. “Like, you don’t realize it. And I think, like, him being in the first year, he dealt with the highs of the highs and the lows of the lows. And I just think, like, you know, he knows what to expect.
“He knows what he wants. He knows what he wants to see out of the organization, out of the players, out the coaches.”
Glenn overhauled his staff during the offseason, changing half of his assistants, including replacing offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand with Frank Reich and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who was fired late last season, with Brian Duker, although Glenn will now call the plays on defense — something he calls his “super power.”
General manager Darren Mougey has already seen a difference with Glenn adding the play-calling duties.
“It’s been fun to watch,” he said. “To see him engaged with the players in the meetings, on the field, I think you see it today — you see that energy and enthusiasm with the defensive play calling, him having his hands on it and be kind of in the nitty-gritty of it all.”
Glenn said Reich, a former Jets teammate, has a philosophy on offense that aligns with his: running the ball and looking for explosive plays. Duker, who was an assistant in Detroit with Glenn, is well-versed in the defense and can step in whenever the head coach needs to tackle another area of running the team throughout the season.
“That’s a real comfort for me,” Glenn said. “It’s really exciting for me to be able to install a defense that I know like the back of my hand. A lot of what we’re doing is things that I actually want to do as far as coming from New Orleans into Detroit. So if there’s an issue, I can quickly fix it. And that feels exciting to me.
"So knowing Frank, knowing what he brings to the table, knowing what Duke brings to table, and me being able to call the defense and fix issues that we have, man, I look forward to that. I really do.”
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