New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn has consistently discussed his relationship with former Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Parcells.
The former Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Cowboys coach has been a sounding board off which Glenn can bounce ideas. Gang Green’s coach has needed it; at 0-6, the Jets are looking for answers while the fanbase grows tired of the frustrating defeats.
This isn’t the first time that Parcells has held the role of mentor for young coaches around the league.
While the fanbase can be frustrated by the lack of results from Glenn, they should at least know he’s going to the right person for help and guidance in his first year on the job.
Impact on Jets
Following Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos, which dropped the Jets to 0-6, Glenn acknowledged he had spoken to Parcells since the team returned from London.
The Hall-of-Fame coach made a comparison to Glenn that the former coach took to heart amid his team’s struggles through the first two months of the season.
“I think in ’93 or ’94, he started 1-12. Hey, we beat them 45-0 at that time when I was here with the Jets,” Glenn said. “So, you have to go through these times, you have to figure out exactly how you’re going to end up winning games and continue to press forward on that.”
Parcells started 1-11 during his first season with the New England Patriots in 1993, which included a 45-7 loss to the Jets in Week 4. New England won its final four games before making the playoffs the following season. In 1996, Parcells led New England to the Super Bowl.
As rough as it has been for Glenn, he is not deterred by his lack of success. He remains as confident as ever that he can turn the team around.
With a leader and mentor like Parcells at his side, time will tell if the 53-year-old can get the team on the right track.
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Since the 1980s, Parcells’ antics as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense football coach have guided league leaders. Teams like the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints have won Super Bowls thanks to Parcells’ teachings.
His role as a mentor has even impacted some of the greatest minds currently walking the sidelines with no prior relationship to him.
In 1999, when Andy Reid was in his first year as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, a sideline clip of Parcells and the offensive mastermind went viral, in which the then-Jets coach offered his services and help for Reid.
“We all need somebody to talk to, understand that,” Parcells said. “You make sure you call me if things aren’t going good and they’re not going to go very good because you don’t have a very good football team.”
The message was simple: fans can get very angry over consistent losses in a big market like Philadelphia. Instead of leaving Reid to tough it out alone, Parcells made himself available in case Reid ever needed to chat and vent out his frustrations.
Reid recalled on NFL Films years ago that he didn’t originally contact Parcells. It wasn’t until the Eagles were 0-4 that the Jets coach reached out to him.
“He goes, ‘Hey listen you S.O.B., you think you’re John Wayne, don’t you?'” Reid jokingly said. “He says, ‘I told you we all need somebody to talk to. You’re hiding right now, aren’t you?’
“He says, ‘Hey, stand tall and get going.'”
Things ended up working out for Reid. Not only did he grow to become the winningest head coach in Eagles history, but he has since set the wins record for the Kansas City Chiefs as well, winning three Super Bowls along the way.
Reid’s lesson is important for a young and inexperienced coach like Glenn.
When in trouble, reach out to Parcells.
