The New York Jets have been lately reported as dysfunctional, but they made a top-tier hire in making Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn their next head coach on Wednesday.
Yes, Glenn is a former first-round pick of the Jets (12th overall in 1994) who played eight of his 12 seasons with New York and earned two of his three career Pro Bowl selections with the team. However, the 52-year-old did nothing but take the long route to becoming the Jets head coach by working in every possible role in football before ascending to the position of NFL head coach. His journey made him one of the 2025 NFL coaching cycle’s most qualified candidates.
He returned to football as a pro personnel scout with the Jets in 2012 before becoming a college area scout in 2013. After that, he dove into coaching. He worked as the Cleveland Browns assistant defensive backs coach (2014-2015), the New Orleans Saints defensive backs coach (2016-2020) and then as the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator (2021-2024).
Glenn’s Lions defense’s points-per-game-allowed average declined while its takeaways improved in each year he was the DC since 2021. Detroit’s 20.1 points-per-game-allowed in 2024 were the seventh fewest in the NFL and the fewest for the Lions since 2014 when they surrendered just 17.6 points per game. The Lions’ 24 takeaways were tied for the ninth most in the NFL and the most in a season for Detroit since 2017 when the team racked up 32 takeaways.
Those 2024 numbers are especially impressive when given the context of the 16 Lions ending the year on injured reserve including the following defensive players: Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, edge rusher Marcus Davenport, defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, linebacker Derrick Barnes, cornerback Carlton Davis, cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and cornerback Khalil Dorsey.
Glenn being hired as the team’s head coach is a massive first step checked off the Jets’ offseason to-do list, but there are still plenty of key items for New York to sort out. Let’s go through a few of them.
Jets hire Aaron Glenn: NFL legends Joe Namath, Bill Parcells endorse New York’s newest head coach
Cody Benjamin
Decide on a general manager
It’s critical for there to be alignment from the front office and the coaching staff in terms of how the team is built and the type of culture that is being built. All too often, the teams that fail to reach the postseason typically lack in that department while the teams that consistently win — Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers to name a few — have that type of alignment.
Hiring Washington Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark to be the new general manager in New York would make a lot of sense. Newmark worked for the Lions front office for 26 seasons. He assisted the Lions front office’s player personnel department in 1998 before working for Detroit as an area scout (1999-2004), national scout (2005-2007), assistant director of college scouting (2008-2014), director of college scouting (2015-2016), director of player personnel (2016-21) and senior director of player personnel (2022-2023). Newmark took a promotion with Washington in 2024, but it’s safe to say there is plenty of familiarity between Glenn and Newmark from their Lions days together. That could help kick off a new Jets regime in a cohesive fashion.
Decide on quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ future as a Jet
Future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 41 years old and set to enter the final season of his current contract with New York in 2025 with a $23.5 million salary cap hit. In his first season after a 2023 Achilles tear, Rodgers’ 3,897 passing yards (eighth-most in the NFL in 2024) and 28 passing touchdowns (tied for the seventh-most in the NFL in 2024 with Buffalo Bills 2024 Second Team All-Pro quarterback Josh Allen) were both top-10 marks in the NFL in 2024 and each the third-highest in their respective metric by a Jets quarterback in a single season in franchise history.
However, his efficiency hit career lows in yards per pass attempt (6.7) and passer rating (90.5). There’s a chance Rodgers could improve in 2025 being another year removed from a serious injury.
Aaron Rodgers 2024 season
|
W-L |
5-12* |
T-27th |
|
Comp Pct |
63% |
30th |
|
Pass Yards |
3,897 |
8th |
|
Pass Yards/Attempt |
6.7 |
28th |
|
Pass TD |
28 |
T-7th |
|
TD-INT |
28-11 |
14th |
|
Passer Rating |
90.5 |
20th |
* Rodgers’ career-worst
** Ranks among 36 qualified QBS
It’s also worth mentioning the defense, Glenn’s area of expertise, took a nose dive this season after the firing of head coach Robert Saleh in a dysfunctional campaign.
|
Points per game allowed |
17.0 (5th) |
26.6 (28th) |
|
Total yards per game allowed |
255.8 (2nd) |
337.9 (18th) |
|
Sacks |
18 (4th) |
25 (T-25th) |
|
QB pressure percentage |
39.8% (5th) |
36.6% (8th) |
|
Completion percentage allowed |
59% (3rd) |
64.6% (13th) |
| Passer rating allowed | 73.1 (4th) | 94.8 (20th) |
If Glenn and whomever his GM running mate in New York is aren’t enamored with Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, a quarterback Glenn personally dismantled in Week 18 to win the NFC North, then it could be worth keeping Rodgers around. The Jets aren’t in range to select either Miami quarterback Cam Ward or Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The next best draft options this year are Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Ole Miss’ Jaxon Dart and Syracuse’s Kyle McCord.
Map out long-term roster vision
Starting cornerback D.J. Reed, starting defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and two, older starting offensive tackles — Morgan Moses (33 years old) and Tyron Smith (34 years old) — are among the key pending free agents for a Jets team projected to have just over $15 million in effective cap space this offseason, per OverTheCap.com. Six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams, who will turn 33 in December, has two years remaining on his current contract with cap hits just over $38 million in each of those two seasons. However, he doesn’t have any guaranteed salary remaining on his deal, making it easy to rework his contract or trade him.
If the Jets are open to a true teardown, it could make sense for New York to move on from most of these players, including Rodgers. However if there is a mandate to remain pushing for an immediate playoff spot in 2025, retaining much of this group could be in order. Glenn and his general manager should ultimately have the ability to shape the roster in their vision without ownership interference. Even if they decide to move on from many of these players, keeping Rodgers on board gives Glenn and his general manager at least a year of buffer time to figure out a course of action for the long-term future at the game’s most valuable position. If owner Woody Johnson can let Glenn and his general manager cook with minimal involvement, then perhaps the Jets can snap the longest active playoff drought in North American professional sports of 14 seasons.
