It has been a long time coming for Aaron Glenn. He was a Pro Bowl cornerback for the New York Jets. After his playing career ended, he took a scouting role with the same team.
Now, he’s preparing to lead the team on the field – not as a defensive coordinator like in his previous stop, but as the head coach and face of the franchise.
Life has come full circle for Glenn and his Jets squad. He is trying to end a 14-year playoff drought with Gang Green. Along the way, he has begun to instill a level of discipline, toughness, and physicality that had long been forgotten in Florham Park.
And while expectations for fans may be broken down to wins and losses, the 53-year-old has a different approach to expectations this season.
Glenn dishes fair expectations for Jets
For a first-time head coach, Glenn walks around as if he’s been in the role for a very long time. That is because he is uniquely prepared for the pressures and expectations that come from taking the job of a down-on-their-luck team like the Jets.
As a Bill Parcells and Sean Payton disciple, Glenn knows how to turn the Jets around.
And he feels like the team isn’t that far off from becoming the kind of winner the fanbase has been begging for over the last 14 seasons of play.
“I have a pretty good understanding of exactly where we are as a team and the things that we were trying to create going into and going through training camp,” Glenn said during availability on Tuesday. “I think we’re very, very close, and I’m going to continue to assess that as I go through the season. I will never stop looking because I want to make sure we reach that plateau of being the team that we try to create … fighting our [expletives] off to get there. I do know that they [the players] know exactly what it is, and we can continue to strive for that.”
Glenn is someone who understands the modern Jet fan. He understands the frustration over the last few years, and believes he can be the person that changes life forever for the franchise.
So what is a good year for New York? Is it eight wins? Could the team feel good about themselves if they finish with just seven wins?
The reality is that Glenn’s first year isn’t about wins and losses.
It’s about bringing back a pride in the team that has been absent from the fanbase for years.
“I want to be a team where the fans will look up and say, ‘we’re proud of that team,'” Glenn said. “If they say that, I’ll be happy because within that, I know wins will come.”
New York’s current win total sits at just 5.5. If Glenn can bring a sense of pride back to the Jets, though, they may find themselves shooting over that total as early as this season.
