Good NFL coaches can match their specific scheme to the players on their current roster. The great ones, however, create a scheme that is ever-evolving to those they have to work with.
He hasn’t coached a single game with the New York Jets, but Aaron Glenn has all the makings of a great head coach.
And he detailed exactly why at league meetings earlier this week.
Jets’ Defensive Scheme Unveiled?
It’s not uncommon for first-time coaches in the offseason to be somewhat silent on the type of scheme they want to run on either side of the ball. So when Glenn made his point clear that the organization wasn’t going to pigeonhole themselves, no one was shocked.
It was the full explanation of why the team wasn’t unveiling their plans, though, that was the difference.
“Offense and defense are built around the personnel that you have, so I don’t want to sit here and say this is who we’re going to be,” Glenn said Monday morning. “Once we get everybody on this defense that we know we want to get, then we’ll build a scheme off of that. I’ve been a part of the wide-9, I’ve been a part of the react attack where we’ve got to stay square to the line of scrimmage.
“Once we get all the people we want to get in this building, listen, Steve [Wilks] is going to do a hell of a job. He’s been a part of building several different defenses that you can see through his career. We look forward to that.”
The best coaches in the NFL have swapped their schemes based on the personnel they have at their disposal. The Jets have plenty of stars on both sides of the ball to run multiple schemes.
From All-Pros at every level of the defense to young stars shining on offense, there are teams currently worse off on the talent spectrum than the Jets.
The point is that New York can allow themselves to be multiple (especially on defense) because they have great players. It will allow the coaching staff under Glenn to do what they are assigned.
Getting Back To Teaching
The Jets have always seemed to struggle with developing young talent throughout their 14-year playoff drought.
It’s not that they haven’t had talent; it’s that the coaching staff leading them wasn’t good enough to get the best out of them.
That’s something Glenn wants changed immediately.
“That’s the No.1 trait you look for in a coach – No. 1 is being able to teach, and No. 2 is being able to develop,” Glenn said. “I hold that to a very high standard in every coach that I have, and that’s one of the things I vet up on every coach is how are they developing and really that’s what coaching is – teaching and developing.
“Every player that we have is not going to be ready-made, and that’s okay, but we look forward to that.”
The true essence of a coach is to get his players to be the best versions of themselves on and off the field. Some of the best coaches in the NFL can get the most out of their teams because they alter their schemes to better fit their talent.
In the case of Glenn, that is precisely what he plans on doing with the Jets.
The former Pro Bowl cornerback may not be successful in his first stint at the top job. Very few are, even when they talk a big game during the offseason.
But the values and principles that Glenn continues to teach are usually the key separator between the good and great coaches. And it might just mean something special is brewing in Florham Park.
