When the New York Jets first opened their coaching search last season, the fanbase pined for Mike Vrabel most consistently. To their horror, not only did that not happen, but Vrabel instead traveled up I-95 to join the hated New England Patriots.
New York subsequently chose former Pro Bowl cornerback Aaron Glenn to lead them. Like Vrabel, Glenn was a legend as a player with the franchise he just became the coach of.
Unlike Vrabel, though, Glenn’s first season as coach has been nothing short of a disappointment.
However, it’s not just in their records that Vrabel and Glenn have significant differences. The existence of one key difference is why the Patriots are on the doorstep of a division title, while the Jets are fighting for a top overall pick.
The Jets-Pats quarterback discrepancy
If the roles were reversed, with Glenn coaching the Patriots and Drake Maye, and Vrabel coaching the Jets with Justin Fields—with the rest of the coaching staffs remaining the same, not swapping—would the results be the same for each team?
The unfortunate reality for the Jets is perhaps so. (Or, at the very least, we’d be looking at something in the same ballpark.)
NFL teams need franchise quarterbacks to be competitive in the modern game. The Patriots have one in Maye. Because of that, many of the glaring talent issues New England has dealt with this season haven’t been as significant a problem for them throughout the 2025 season.
New York, meanwhile, opted for Justin Fields to be its quarterback. That decision resulted in the team failing to record over 60 yards passing in four games—an unthinkable statistic in the modern game.
Vrabel wouldn’t have been able to fix that even if he had tried, had he chosen to go to the Jets.
The crux of New York’s most significant issue is at the quarterback position. It always has been for decades. This season, you could make the argument that the Jets have the better offensive line than New England. They even had the better No. 1 receiver (when Garrett Wilson was healthy).
However, until they address their quarterback issues, Maye’s performance will continue to be the key differentiator between Glenn and Vrabel.
The underrated part of the Patriots’ resurgence
For as good as Vrabel and Maye have been with the Patriots, there’s an underrated part of the franchise that is a significant reason for their resurgence.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels has been with the team in three separate time periods. Each time he was with them, the organization went to the Super Bowl. The job McDaniels has done this season with a Patriots offense that, coming into the year, was seemingly devoid of top talent, has been impressive.
Do the Jets have themselves a McDaniels?
It may be too early to tell.
Tanner Engstrand has done a lot of good things in his first-ever season calling offensive plays. His scheme appears modern; there are players open downfield, and he has been genuinely effective with the quarterbacks he has had to work with.
The jury is still out on whether Engstrand can become for New York what McDaniels is for New England.
Until the Jets get their quarterback, though, Engstrand’s coaching prowess will continue to be questioned.