Aaron Glenn has been a part of many rebuilds during his time as a coach and player in the NFL.

As a first-round (1994) cornerback of the New York Jets, Glenn was part of the one-win 1996 squad that is widely regarded as one of the worst teams in football history. He was also unfortunate to coach under Dan Campbell’s 2021 Detroit Lions, which finished 3-13-1 to kick off the post-Matthew Stafford era.

Now, leading a team that has lost its first four games in his first year as head coach of the Jets, Glenn isn’t in unfamiliar territory. On the bright side, his past experiences are helping him handle the Jets’ tumultuous start.

Glenn compares 2025 Jets to 2021 Lions

There are several similarities between the current Jets and the 2021 Lions—a team that was coached by Campbell in his first season as a former player, with Glenn serving as defensive coordinator.

Detroit started 0-8 to begin the year, but played three playoff teams in the first four weeks. They put forth a strong offensive showing in Week 1, but were blown out in the following weeks.

The Jets, meanwhile, have played three teams from the previous year’s playoffs in their first four weeks. They have lost by one score in three of those four games as well.

In that respect, the 2025 Jets may be a bit further ahead of where Campbell’s Lions once were—even if it doesn’t seem that way.

“It’s not fun being 0-8,” Glenn said on Wednesday. “You just have to believe and understand how you want to build and the foundation that you’re trying to set, that you cannot waiver from those things even when the outside noise is really on you.”

That experience in Detroit is something that Glenn is using to connect with the rest of the Jets organization. Just because a team starts poorly at the beginning of a regime, it doesn’t mean it will end badly.

In 2021, the Lions shrugged off a 0-8 start to win three of their final six games. That helped them build the foundation. In 2022, they finished above .500. The following year, they were in the NFC championship game.

Improvement is not always linear. That is something Glenn has harped on as he tries to navigate the concerning start to another season for Jets fans.

However, Glenn’s conviction, combined with his understanding of what the fanbase is going through, leads him to believe that his regime is still the right group to turn the franchise around once and for all.

“I understand how the fans feel, I do; I’m hurting just like they are,” Glenn admitted. “I
believe in everything that we’re doing, and I know that there’s going to be a breakthrough, and when it breaks through, this thing is going to pop exactly like we all want it to.”

Jets fans may be frustrated, but with three games all within one score, there is a genuine belief that the organization is closer than anticipated.

Glenn’s connection with past star coaches

Throughout Glenn’s career as a coach, he has surrounded himself with some of the greatest minds in league history as mentees. Super Bowl-winning coaches like Bill Parcells, Sean Payton, and Tony Dungy have all been massive resources for the Jets’ leader.

Outside of Payton, both Parcells and Dungy had struggling first seasons with their original teams. Parcells went 3-13 as head coach of the New York Giants. Dungy finished with a 6-10 record with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was a recent conversation with Dungy, though, that helped Glenn put things into perspective.

“He (Dungy) went 0-5, and he felt the same way,” Glenn said of the former Colts and Bucs coach. “These things take time, but I believe in everything that we are doing. I believe in our coaching staff, and I believe in our players.”

Glenn always understood that it would take time to instill the kind of culture he felt the Jets needed to build. At 0-4, fans of the team aren’t so confident to give him any more grace.

However, with comparisons to a past Lions team that has evolved into a Super Bowl contender, and other successful head coaches, Aaron Glenn believes he’s still on the right path to fixing the New York Jets—despite a winless first month.