PHOENIX — Jets head coach Aaron Glenn walked in with a smile on his face as he spoke to reporters at the NFL Annual Meeting.
He was asked why he was feeling “outstanding,” and it is because of all the additions the Jets have made on both sides of the ball following a turbulent 3-14 season.
“The fact that everything that was done was intentional,” Glenn said on Wednesday morning. “I’m just talking about everything from after the season until now, that everything we planned and you start to see it come together.
“We’re still a long ways away, but the process of what me and Moogs [Jets general manager Darren Mougey] want to do, coaching staff, players, that whole process, you can just see it. I guess that’s why I’m outstanding.”
One of those significant changes was the acquisition of quarterback Geno Smith from the Raiders in a trade earlier this month. On Sunday, Glenn announced Smith would be the team’s starting quarterback despite a significant regression from his previous years with the Seahawks. In 15 games last season, Smith passed for 3,025 yards, 19 touchdowns, and a league-leading 17 interceptions.
Following the quarterback carousel that included Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, and Brady Cook last season, the Jets wanted to add an experienced signal-caller to help stabilize the position.
Glenn believes Smith, 35, can regain his previous Pro Bowl form in Seattle, where he passed for 71 touchdowns from 2022-24. He also says there’s something about a player like Smith who has a chip on his shoulder following an abysmal 3-14 year with the Raiders.
“I just feel like he’s the guy that’s going to lead us to the promised land,” Glenn said. “He’s the guy that’s going to touch the ball more than anybody else on offense.
“Listen, I know he had his struggles and I think a lot of quarterbacks and a lot of quarterbacks are going to have their struggles. He understands exactly what happened last year. I don’t want to get too far into that because I wasn’t there, but he knows there’s some things that he knows he needs to correct. And he’s at fault for some of those, but there are some things that he’s going to get better at and I look forward to him doing that.”
There have been various debates about whether the Jets should try to draft their quarterback of the future this year or wait until 2027, when they will have three first-round picks. The 2027 NFL Draft class is projected to feature an exceptional quarterback class headlined by Arch Manning (Texas), Dante Moore (Oregon) and Julian Sayin (Ohio State).
Last week, Glenn and Mougey went on a pro day tour to Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Texas Tech. They also had dinner and had a private workout with Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. He has only 15 college starts, all coming in 2025.
Because of that, Simpson has been a topic of discussion amid the lack of quality quarterback prospects, aside from Fernando Mendoza, whom the Raiders are expected to draft No. 1 overall.
“You always want to build your roster with players, no matter what position that is,” Glenn said. “I mean, obviously, the quarterback is a top position on the team, and if we feel like he’s the best player on the board, then that’s what we do, that’s who we draft.
“The thing is, we are not trying to reach and grab for guys. We’re trying to just grab the best players.”
In addition to adding Smith, Glenn added several veterans, particularly to a defense that finished 25th in yards allowed and 31st in points allowed per game. They traded for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, signed linebacker Demario Davis, and defensive tackle David Onyemata, who previously worked with Glenn in New Orleans.
They also added defensive end Joseph Ossai, cornerback Nahshon Wright, safety Dane Belton, defensive tackle Kingsley Enagbare, and acquired defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat in a trade with the Titans.
“I think we were the second youngest team in the league,” Glenn said. “To be able to have an influx of these veteran guys to teach these guys how the locker room needs to operate.
“When you start to add guys like that, I think it only helps what you’re trying to create when it comes to a team. All those guys that we added in free agency bring a certain level of adult to our team that we need.”
In addition, Glenn will be the defensive playcaller a year after taking a more CEO-like approach in his first season. He will run his scheme after former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ lone season with the Jets was an unmitigated disaster.
Last season, the Jets became the only team in NFL history not to record a single interception the entire season. They also ranked dead last in turnover differential (-19).
The Jets will shift from a 4-3 base to multiple defensive formations that incorporate both 3-4 and 4-3 elements.
“I think sometimes it’s overblown,” Glenn said. “When you look at it, you’re in nickel like 70 percent of the time.
“Once you go to base defense, man, there’s a number of things that you can do. I love front variations. You will see some four-down fronts, some five-down fronts, and a lot of movement within that. I don’t want to sit here and say exactly who we’re gonna be because we’re gonna be a little bit of everything.”
The Jets currently hold the longest active playoff drought in the NFL and across all major North American professional sports leagues, having missed the postseason for 15 consecutive seasons (2011–2025). Their last playoff appearance was during the 2010 season, which ended in an AFC Championship Game loss to the Steelers.
In addition, the Jets have registered double-digit losses for six straight seasons. They also haven’t finished with a winning record since 2015, when they finished 10-6.
Obviously, being a former player for the organization, ending their long-term misery was one of the reasons Glenn wanted the Jets job in the first place. When asked about the playoff drought, Glenn says he thinks about it often.
“I really think about this, and this is just not coach speak, how do I utilize every single player that we have on this roster to help us be successful?” Glenn said. “And what are the things that I have to do to get over that hump, because I’ve been a part of it.
“It’s no better feeling in the world if you’re downtrodden for a number of years and then we finally get over that hump. And now we’re moving, how do we keep that sustainable for years to come? I want to leave a legacy. Every day, it’s not a day, it’s not an hour, it’s not a minute that I don’t think about that.”