The world lost legendary actor Robert Duvall in February. Many know him as Tom Hagen, the non-Italian consigliere in “The Godfather,” but he was sneakily great as an old hermit in 2009’s “Get Low.”
Duvall goes to the town’s funeral director, played by Bill Murray, in hopes of organizing a funeral for himself while he’s still alive—not because he wants to die, but just to hear what the locals have to say about him and his transgressions.
Plenty of New York Jets fans believe the hearses are already en route to Aaron Glenn’s coaching grave. Although the NFL Scouting Combine may tell you something different, AG’s eyes (and ears) are wide open.
After going 3-14, Glenn feels like a dead man walking on the heels of a historically bad season, rife with coaching mistakes, no interceptions, and meme-worthy moments that would fuel Larry David for an entire season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
However, as atrocious as Season 1 was for Glenn, he has his believers. Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, who just completed his first season with the Jets, noted that there’s a defeatist mentality amongst the current troops, which he promises will change in 2026. Some fans label that mentality the “Saleh mope.” Phillips assures that those names will be weeded out and replaced with faces who embody Glenn’s early-season bravado.
As the season ended, Glenn assured fans not to “let go of the rope,” but that rope felt all the more slick as a mass coaching exodus commenced, akin to the aforementioned “Godfather,” where all of Vito Corleone’s rival crime bosses met their demise. Despite the violence in the latter, the former somehow felt even messier.
The Faith Behind Dunbar & Reich
The “super-powered” Glenn will leave his fortress of sideline solitude to handle the Jets’ defensive play-calling in 2026. Along with Glenn’s role change comes a haul of coaching reinforcements.
Glenn managed to scoop up beloved veteran coach Karl Dunbar to recalibrate his defensive line. As dog-eared as the zero-interception statistic is, the Jets were similarly abysmal at getting to the quarterback. They ranked 31st in sacks (26) and dead last in pressure rate (15.1%).
Dunbar’s 2025 line in Pittsburgh helped the Steelers finish sixth in sacks (48). A Steelers stalwart for seven seasons, Dunbar’s 2026 front will be sans Quinnen Williams and Jermaine Johnson, but plus T’Vondre Sweat and a likely second-overall pick. Not only that, but we’re likely to see a shift from the 4-3 to the 3-4 front. That, at the bare minimum, is promising.
Regarding the offense, that’s Frank Reich’s baby. If we indeed open ourselves up to a Superman designation for Glenn, Reich is Frank Miller’s Batman in “The Dark Knight Returns”: battle-scarred, believed to be past his prime, with the world changing around him. Yet, he returns for one last knock-around.
By all accounts, Reich will have a huge influence on who will be standing behind center in 2026. It creates a redemption story not just for him, but for Glenn, and his team in Joker green.
Unlike Duvall’s Felix Bush in “Get Low,” Glenn may be hearing what’s said about him, but he doesn’t seem to care.
“He’s got a lot of confidence,” said ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “You talk to any player who played with him or coached with him, and it’s like, you don’t last that long in the NFL as a 5’9” cornerback unless you got a chip on your shoulder and you have just an endless supply of confidence, and he did, and he does.”
The late famed poet Emily Dickinson once said, “Dying is a wild night and a new road.” If you’re a Jets fan, you hope Glenn’s first season perishes on the vine, but that new road, as low and dirty as it has gotten, bears plenty of fruit.
