The New York Jets have announced Aaron Glenn, who spent the past four seasons in Detroit transforming the Lions’ defense, as their next head coach. While fans are optimistic about Glenn’s potential in his first head coaching role, former Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason is more skeptical, calling the move a repetition of the team’s unsuccessful patterns.
Will Aaron Glenn Succeed With the Jets?
Boomer says the Jets hiring Aaron Glenn would be repeating a pattern that they have had no success with:@WFANmornings pic.twitter.com/x3zFjNzUlq
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) January 22, 2025
“Even though he’s a very popular defensive coordinator, a very popular personality within the Jets community, they’re going down the same road once again. They have not had an ounce of success at all.
“They’ve thrown money at every aspect of team-building they can, including quarterback, general manager, head coach. They spent so much money on so many players over the last 12 years, and they still can’t get it right,” said Esiason on WFAN Sports Radio.
Esiason points out that the Jets have struggled with hiring rookie head coaches, particularly defensive coordinators. Todd Bowles and Robert Saleh, for instance, both first-time head coaches with defensive backgrounds, failed to bring long-term success.
Bowles didn’t make it past three seasons, and Saleh was fired just five games into his fourth year. Esiason argues that Glenn, despite his impressive résumé, may face the same fate.
Glenn’s résumé is all you could want from a first-time HC. He was able to turn one of the league’s worst defenses into a unit teams feared to go up against, not to mention the strong culture he helped set.
Just looking at the Lions’ points allowed per drive, it’s evident in the numbers that Glenn was a driving factor in the defense’s rapid turnaround.
- 2020 (before Glenn took over): 2.95 points allowed per drive
- 2021: 2.52
- 2022: 2.28
- 2023: 2.03
- 2024: 1.91
Still, Esiason believes the issue isn’t with Glenn’s ability as a coach but rather with his inexperience. Esiason goes on to say, “We’re not advocates for a newbie to come in here and take this thing over.”
Though he expressed hope for Glenn’s success, the fact of the matter is the Jets do not have a good track record when hiring rookie head coaches.
Glenn Must Break the Pattern
Esiason mentions how this current Jets team is a tough position for a rookie head coach to be in. It feels like the team doesn’t have a current sense of direction, as questions surround the quarterback position and their vacant general manager job.
Without a stable QB situation, Glenn faces an uphill battle in New York, where expectations are high and patience is thin.
Esiason suggested a place like Jacksonville that would suit a rookie coach better. He mentions the stability of the quarterback position with the Jaguars, something that is a big help to any kind of new coach, especially rookies.
Not only must Glenn break the pattern of past failures by rookie head coaches with the Jets, but he will also look to break a league-wide pattern of what were rough first seasons for first-timers in 2024.
The New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers, and Seattle Seahawks all hired first-time head coaches (Antonio Pierce was the Raiders’ interim HC from the previous season). Those five combined for a .388 win percentage, with only the Seahawks finishing above .500. New England and Las Vegas already changed coaches, going one-and-done with their respective hires.
For Glenn, the stakes are high. As a former Jets player, he has a chance to become a hero to the same fan base that once cheered for him on the field.
The task is certainly tall, and history is against him. Will Glenn be the exception to the rule, or will he become another chapter in the Jets’ history of missteps? Only time will tell if he can overcome the odds and deliver the success that has eluded the franchise for so long.
