Gang Green Nation
Aaron Glenn has a plan to drag this franchise towards consistent winning
For 14 straight years the New York Jets have missed the NFL playoffs. For years the team has been the butt of jokes around the league for a multitude of reasons. While some of that mockery can be absurd, a lot of it is justified. You’ll find few teams performing as miserably as the Jets have over the past decade. Even fewer whose fans annually go through the rigmarole of convincing themselves that “this is the year”, despite multiple years of evidence depicting otherwise. This isn’t to knock Jets fans, as their passion is one of the most visible amongst fans in the league. The Aaron Glenn era in New York should mark an end to complacency and mediocrity within the Jets organization.
Once a team becomes consistently bad, even the smallest sign of success is cherished - whether by the organization or the fans. For the Jets, an excellent example of that is the 2015 Ryan Fitzpatrick-led “almost” playoff season. Despite Fitzpatrick (and other members of the team) putting up excellent numbers statistically, the team came up short when it mattered most.
That season of hope led to an offseason of undeserved ego, which completely destroyed the chemistry within the team. The 2016 Jets finished 5-11, in last place in the AFC East, and stuck in purgatory.
This doesn’t just happen in the NFL, this also occurs at the college football level. One example is Florida Atlantic University, which has been mediocre since Lane Kiffin left for greener pastures. After a 5-4 season with then-head coach Willie Taggert in 2020 (the year after Kiffin left), fans were filled with optimism. That is, until they went a combined 10-14 the following two years.
One good year doesn’t prevent mediocrity settling in. Most of the time that occurs when “just getting to the dance”, or even close to it, is enough in the eyes of the staff, players, and fanbase. But that should never be the case. Fans should expect a quick turnaround regardless who is the head coach of their football team.
Can Aaron Glenn be the man for the job going forward?
When coach Glenn was first hired, his introductory speech emboldened many. As he said, “we are the freaking New York Jets, and we are built for this s—-.”
However, the reality is much different. They are not built for “it”. At least, not yet.
The examples in recent years speak for themselves. The tenure of Robert Saleh brought about a complacency for mediocrity that is surprising to see at the NFL level. Sure, Saleh had a friendly relationship with his players, but they didn’t respect him. If they did, they would have complained less on social media when franchise-changing moves were made, and actually performed on the football field.
The same point goes for those upset with Glenn opting to move on from quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It’s not shocking that a new head coach would...
