ClutchPoints
Aaron Glenn, the new head coach of the New York Jets, deserves a fresh start. He’s going to be tied to his legacy as a player in New York, which was undoubtedly awesome. Glenn was selected 12th overall in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Jets, and he went on to have two Pro Bowl seasons in New York before ending his career elsewhere.
That history with the Jets — the draft selection, the Pro Bowls, the 24 interceptions he pulled down in eight seasons with the franchise — is going to be all you see or hear regarding the Jets and Glenn for quite some time.
It makes sense, too. Former first-round pick returns to be the head coach “savior’ of the franchise in a marketing match made in heaven. There are Madison Avenue executives who have gone their whole careers without such an obvious pitch, and that’s a story the Jets can sell. Heck, that’s hope the Jets can sell. Glenn was on the team when the Jets made the AFC Championship Game in 1998-99. He knows what it takes to play at that level and one would think that should inspire some loyalty amongst the locker room rather quickly.
The issue when talking about the Jets and their history is that, at least recently, it has not been very good. They were last a playoff team in 2010, and they’ve now gone through three coaches since that Rex Ryan regime. They’ve also gone through a handful of highly-drafted quarterbacks. That’s a list that includes Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson.
Speaking of quarterbacks, it was four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers who was supposed to be the magic pill to finally turn this team back around and get them over the Super Bowl hump, but after two seasons, we all know how that has ended up. You’d have to be hiding under a rock to not hear that Rodgers’ first season with the Jets was only four snaps long before his Achilles snapped. You’d have to be on a perpetual ayahuasca retreat to look at what Rodgers did in his 5-12 “comeback” season and think that it was anything but disappointing.
Yes, Rodgers still made some vintage throws, and he can still put some zip on the ball, but his trademark ability to move around in the pocket and throw off-balance is gone, plus he threw 11 interceptions. Mind you, he threw just nine in 2020 and 2021 combined. Even trading for Davante Adams midseason couldn’t help Rodgers turn the Jets’ fortunes around.
This isn’t meant to be Rodgers slander, either, because he is 41 years old and coming off a major injury. The fact that he even played in 2024 rather than retired is a testament to his competitive spirit, and he’s absolutely going down in Canton as a Hall of Famer when all is said and done.
But is another round of an even older Rodgers worth it for Glenn and the Jets in...
