Critics of Aaron Glenn’s viral touchdown celebration dance are full of malarkey. Even his former teammates know it.
On Wednesday, former New York Jets safety Victor Green, who played with Glenn in New York for eight seasons, took to X to defend his longtime teammate against misguided critics of the first-year head coach’s enthusiasm.
“Have fun AG,” wrote Green. “That’s been you and it got you here. Keep getting excited when your players make play[s]. Win/lose. We’re not the same ole Jets. I’m rooting for you and our @nyjets. See you home against Dallas. Good luck!”
Glenn’s dance – a callback to one that he pulled out in his playing days – was captured on the FOX broadcast after Will McDonald returned a blocked field goal for a go-ahead touchdown with under two minutes left in the Jets’ Week 3 game against the Buccaneers.
The Jets came into the game as seven-point road underdogs, and they were trailing by 17 points at the start of the fourth quarter. McDonald’s shocking block and ensuing return were the exclamation point on a wildly improbable comeback.
While the Jets squandered the lead soon after, Glenn’s excitement in the moment was completely justified.
After his initial post, Green continued to defend Glenn from critics on social media. In response to a comment claiming that Bill Parcells or Bill Belichick would have never done that, Green wrote, “That’s because they couldn’t do it. Stop it. Keep it up AG. Some people will never get it. Not everyone cut from the same cloth.”
Glenn’s enthusiasm on the sidelines is one of the Jets’ primary silver linings from their 0-3 start – not a negative. That enthusiasm shows whether New York is playing well or poorly. Multiple times this season, Glenn has gotten in the faces of Jets players after they made a bone-headed mistake. In Tampa Bay, Glenn chewed out rookie wideout Arian Smith for causing a penalty by lining up improperly.
Jets coaches of the past have leaned too far to both ends of the spectrum when it comes to gameday demeanor. Adam Gase was emotionless, and that mentality translated to his team. Robert Saleh was passionate, but he seemed overly positive and reassuring, which translated to a team that played hard but undisciplined.
Glenn is striking a nice balance so far. It must translate to victories at some point, and until it does, fans will redirect their frustration about the win-loss record toward aspects of Glenn that are undeserving of criticism. But if Glenn continues being Glenn, the Jets might not feel like the same old Jets for much longer.