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Aaron Glenn is going back to where it all began.
The New York Jets are hiring Glenn, who has been the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions since 2021, as their next head coach. ESPN first reported the news, which the team confirmed later Wednesday.
The Jets are coming off a 5-12 season that saw them fire head coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start and also fire general manager Joe Douglas in November.
Glenn, 52, started both his playing and coaching career in New York. The Jets’ former cornerback became a scout with the team in 2012. From 2016-20, he was the defensive backs coach for the New Orleans Saints, where he worked alongside Dan Campbell, who brought Glenn to Detroit with him upon being named the Lions’ head coach in 2021. Glenn was also the assistant defensive backs coach for the Cleveland Browns from 2014-15.
As a player, Glenn was selected by the Jets with the No. 12 pick in the 1994 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M. Glenn spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Jets (1994-2001), with whom he averaged three interceptions per season, ran back two pick-sixes in 1996 and totaled a career-high six interceptions in 1998. In 1998, the Jets won 12 games — which they haven’t done since said season — earned a first-round bye and advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Glenn then played for the Houston Texans from 2002-04 and Dallas Cowboys from 2005-06 — where he reunited with head coach Bill Parcells, whom he played for on the Jets from 1997-99 — before one-year stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2007) and Saints (2008) to end his career.
This will be Glenn’s first NFL head-coaching job. He’s the second player-turned-coach to be hired by his former team this year, after Mike Vrabel reunited with the Patriots. Both will be aiming to turn around AFC East teams that finished in the bottom half of the division.
One of the first things Glenn will need to tackle: the Jets’ roster.
Following another disappointing season for New York, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers did not give a definite no, or a definite yes, on whether he’d be returning next season, but instead gave a few hypothetical scenarios.
“There’s obviously a lot of hypotheticals here,” Rodgers said. “If I want to play — hypothetical No. 1. If they want to move on — hypothetical No. 2. Would I be willing to play for another team — hypothetical No. 3.”
And then with a smile, Rodgers told reporters: “The answer is yes.”
Meanwhile, wide receiver Davante Adams, who the team acquired from Las Vegas in October, has also not confirmed his return to New York, stating after the season ended that it was a “whirlwind” and he was unsure of his next steps.
Several young players are eligible for contract extensions this offseason, including cornerback Sauce Gardner, wide receiver Garrett Wilson, running back Breece Hall and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson.
Linebacker Jamien Sherwood, tight end Tyler Conklin, cornerback D.J. Reed, right tackle Morgan Moses, edge rusher Haason Reddick, left tackle Tyron Smith, safety Chuck Clark and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas are all among those who could leave in free agency.
The Jets have yet to hire a new general manager. They’ve interviewed 15 candidates, including Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newark on Tuesday.
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