If you ask most New York Jets fans, trust in the current coaching staff is hard to come by.
After a disastrous 3-14 season last year, it’s hard to argue with that mindset.
A lot of things went wrong for the Jets during their first season under Glenn. Both the offense and the defense were among the worst in the league.
Had it not been for their dynamic special teams unit, the 2025 Jets could be in contention for the worst team in NFL history, yet they didn’t even earn the rights to the top overall draft selection in April.
While fans have pointed fingers at Glenn for the disastrous 2025 season, many Jets players, both past and present, have come out of the woodwork to defend the coach.
It begs the question: Should fans listen to players’ defenses of Glenn? Or are fans’ frustrations beyond anything NFL players can understand?
Jets players continue to defend Glenn
One of the first players at Super Bowl radio row to come to Glenn’s defense was former Jets All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. New York shipped Gardner to Indianapolis for a haul including two first-round draft selections.
Despite no longer being a part of the Jets, Gardner was complimentary of Glenn and the culture he has been trying to install.
“He has a very tough mindset,” Gardner said of Glenn. “Like, ‘This is the way that things are going to be.’ Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time, that’s the right way. He’s very disciplining, he’s going to discipline his players. And if you’re not on the same accord, you’re just not going to be there.
“I’m excited to see what they (the Jets) have in store. Given him having a whole season of seeing, alright, this is what we need, and this person, this is the group of men that we need.”
Gardner wasn’t the only player to come to Glenn’s defense either. Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips spoke out on the Jake Asman Show, stating he understands exactly why Glenn is the right man for the Jets job.
“I think that when you take the job with the Jets, and you understand the culture that you’re up against, and the ‘I’ve gotta protect myself’ ideology that’s in players, you want someone like A.G.,” Phillips said. “Who is consistent and is tough and is disciplined and has a standard. His consistency never wavered.”
Should fans begin to trust what players like Phillips and Gardner are saying, even though the results aren’t there? Will either of their comments matter this time next year if the Jets stumble to another three-win season?
The fact of the matter is that players will always defend their coaches because it’s the right thing to do. It’s unsurprising that Phillips went out of his way to defend the culture that Glenn has brought to the team and the patience required to maintain it.
Would they say the same things if Glenn were not the head coach of the team? That remains to be seen.
While it’s certainly a good thing that players are praising Glenn for holding people accountable (something lost on the prior coaching regime), the Jets need to win games before fans trust what players are telling them.
Until then, the disconnect between the franchise and the fans will only continue to grow.
