The New York Jets are on the hunt for their head coach. Could the Jets turn to former star cornerback Aaron Glenn to fill the role?
The New York Jets were a disaster for most of the 1990s. It wasn’t until the second half of the decade that Bill Parcells came in and changed everything. The one thing the Jets had going for them was their cornerback play. Aaron Glenn was arguably the best cornerback in team history.
Glenn made two All-Pro teams with the Jets and was later named a starting cornerback on the Jets all-time team, along with Darrelle Revis.
After retiring in 2008, Glenn just couldn’t give up on football. He joined a front office and later became a coach. Now, 27 years after first drafting him, the Jets are interviewing Glenn for their head coach position.
Could the New York Jets’ legend be the answer the team has been searching for?
History
Glenn’s career began as a cornerback. He spent 15 seasons in the NFL across five teams. He’s most famous for his stint with the New York Jets.
After retiring, Glenn took a few years before jumping into a front office. In the spring of 2012, Glenn was named the general manager of the Houston Stallions of the Lone Star Football League. Sadly, the league went under before Glenn was able to mold the team.
Knowing that Glenn was looking for front office work, the Jets were more than happy to oblige. They hired Glenn on as a Personnel scout and he held the position for two years.
He landed his first coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 2014. He was named the team’s assistant defensive backs coach, working with new Browns head coach and former Jets’ defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.
Pettine lasted just two years in Cleveland. Glenn left the team when Pettine did. He was given a promotion to defensive backs coach with the New Orleans Saints. He’s held that position since 2016.
Glenn’s work with the Saints has earned him praise around the league. He’s often been called a fast-rising coach. The Jets have clearly seen enough to be interested in their former star. They’re the only team with a head coach vacancy who plans to bring Glenn in for an interview.
Scheme/Coaching style
It’s hard to know exactly what Aaron Glenn’s defensive scheme would look like since he’s never schemed a defense. However, teams should have a decent idea of what kind of head coach he’ll be and that’s more important.
Glenn may never have to scheme an offense or defense in his life. In fact, the New York Jets may prefer it that way. They want a CEO-type of coach to take over the team. That means overseeing everything and trusting that your coordinators can scheme and call plays on their own. To put it simply, the Jets want their next Bill Parcells. In Glenn, they may have that.
Glenn and Bill Parcells are good friends, and Parcells has been a mentor to Glenn. He helped him land his scouting job with the Jets. It was Parcells who told Glenn to take the coaching job with the Browns. When that job dried up it was Parcell’s disciple and one of Glenn’s former coaches Sean Payton who scooped him up.
Glenn isn’t the big personality that Parcells is. He’s often considered humble and softer-spoken. That doesn’t mean he’s not fit to lead. Glenn has always been about doing the small stuff and doing it right. He leads by example rather than intimidation. He’s a lot like Sean Payton in that way.
From a coaching style standpoint, Glenn seems to have adopted the best traits of Parcells and Payton. That means he might just have the right temperament to lead a team. It’s likely that appealing coaching style that emulates two Hall of Fame coaches that has the Jets interested enough to interview him.
Is he the next New York Jets head coach?
It’s unlikely that Aaron Glenn lands this job. It’s not that he isn’t a fit, but he simply doesn’t have the experience yet. He’s never been more than a position coach and he’s only been a coach at all for seven seasons.
There would be questions about his ability to fill out his staff and if he’s ready to lead a team when he hasn’t even led one side of the ball yet.
It would take quite a pitch from Glenn to land the job, but it’s not impossible. If he can prove to Joe Douglas he has a vision for the future and good coordinators lined up then he might just have an outside chance.
Still, it just doesn’t seem like it’s Glenn’s time yet. Look for him to land as a defensive coordinator somewhere in the near future. Once he’s proven he can succeed at that level he’s going to have teams drooling over him.
It may take another three or four years, but Glenn will be a head coach in the NFL. It just doesn’t seem to be his time yet.
