This is what New York Jets fans were hoping to see in an Aaron Glenn coaching staff last year: respected veteran minds in key positions of value, quality coordinators, and a cohesive plan to get the roster playing better.
No more running back coaches leading the quarterback room. No more first-time play-callers with little support around them.
This is what fans expected from Glenn and the Jets.
Over the last two weeks, New York has begun rebuilding its coaching staff after a tumultuous month in which coaches were relieved of their duties or found new roles elsewhere. Instead of panicking, though, the Jets head coach went to work and has built a strong staff to this point.
The most recent of Glenn’s hires has Jets fans excited for incremental reasons that travel beyond the on-field possibilities related to the passing offense.
Embracing the light
Hiring Detroit Lions wide receiver coach Seth Ryan — the son of the beloved former Jets head coach Rex Ryan — is not only a full-circle moment for the Jets, but it also highlights a further change in Glenn’s overall philosophy.
Over his first season at the helm, Glenn seemed more intent on having things go his way, a style that could easily be compared to the way bosses operated a couple of decades ago. Glenn’s struggles in 2025 spotlighted a coach who misunderstood the NFL’s modern coaching and game-planning process from a fluid perspective.
Ryan’s hire, though, shows Glenn may be learning from his mistakes. Ryan coached under the tutelage of former Lions offensive coordinator and current Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson in Detroit.
From there, Ryan showed the top play-caller just how bright a future he had at the time.
“They’ve been in charge of our specials for not just this year, but for the last few years, and there’s a reason why we have probably a little higher success rate for those special plays, and they’re a big reason why,” Johnson said of Ryan in 2024. “They have a ton of creativity, they bring a lot of ideas to the table, so I really wanted to start off here today by giving them a shoutout.”
Seeking creativity
That creativity that Johnson is talking about from Ryan is something the Jets sorely missed in 2025. It’s also something they don’t have with new offensive coordinator Frank Reich — despite the veteran play-caller bringing at least one vital attribute to the table.
That’s ok, though. New York brought Ryan in to help modernize Reich’s offensive scheme. Someone who can marry the concepts of the West Coast offense with the pre- and post-snap movement of the modern game.
No longer is Glenn willing to run his offense one particular way. Now, he wants to make sure his scheme is up to par.
Ryan is able to do that. With Reich, he can provide stability for the offensive room.
Time will tell if the Jets can get the players they need to turn things around, but the Ryan hire (along with additional hirings on the position coach staff) shows Glenn has changed a bit in how he’s targeted positional coaches, and it might just be for the better, after all.