PHOENIX — Aaron Glenn found the last open seat at the circular table and sat down with smile on his face and a chuckle.

How are you, AG?

“I’m outstanding,” he said.

About 35 minutes later, Glenn, in a moment of passion, paused mid-sentence to keep himself from choking up.

Those two emotional bookends do well to explain Glenn’s state of mind heading into his second season, fresh off his second run through free agency, and following a tumultuous first year.

This already feels like a different Glenn, a coach that — at least on the surface — has learned from his rookie mistakes. His demeanor is different. The way he talks to the media is different.

A year ago, when Glenn sat at a similar table in Palm Beach, Fla., he wasn’t smiling much. His quarter-zip was zipped up all the way to the top and that reflected his energy too — zipped up and unwilling to engage in anything he viewed as tomfoolery.

On Tuesday, he left a few buttons undone at the top of his shirt. He answered every question, even ones that were repeated, even ones that questioned his decision-making from a year ago — and the ones about the perception of the pressure on him to win more games in 2026. He handled it, all of it, with a lightness and understanding that was mostly missing last year, even before the losing started.

The heat is on, but Glenn is acting cool.

“We’re still a long ways away,” Glenn said. “But I know this: Everything that we want to do as an organization, we’re starting to see come together. We still have a long ways to go, but I like the direction we’re going right now.”

At the end of a long session that covered a wide range of topics — roster, NFL Draft and scheme among them — that pesky playoff-less streak (15 years, the longest in the NFL) was raised. That’s when the emotion bubbled back up.

“Every day. Every day,” Glenn said. “There’s a couple things I think about on a daily basis. I think about the players every day. I think about — I really, really think about this, this is not just coach speak — how do I utilize every player we have on this roster to help us be successful? What are the things I have to make sure (of to) get over that hump? Because I’ve been a part of it, and there’s no better feeling in the world than, we’re downtrodden for a number of years, and then we finally get over that hump and we’re moving. Then it’s: How do we keep that sustainable for years to come? I want to leave a legacy, I do. When I’m gone, I’m looking at this team being a team that consistently puts itself in a place to win.

“Every day,” Glenn said, then paused for a moment. “It’s not a day, it’s not an hour, it’s not a minute that I don’t think about that. And I look forward to making that happen.”

Monday and Tuesday marked the first time Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey spoke since free agency. Here are six things I took away from what they said:

1. Geno Smith is the right quarterback for this moment.

It would be difficult to ignore the criticism and mockery inflicted on the Jets for going back to Smith — and the Jets weighed all of that when they dug into their quarterback options.

Things did not end well for Smith with the Jets. Not with the organization, not with the fans. He left a decade ago for a reason — and now he’s back for a reason too. That reason is obvious: He was the best of the available options, and would come at minimal cost. But it goes beyond that, too.

More than anything, the Jets believe in Smith’s ability to not only shepherd in a new offensive scheme with Frank Reich calling plays, but to deliver passes on a consistent and accurate basis to Jets receivers. Glenn and Mougey understand how and why things went wrong in Las Vegas last year. All the interceptions he’s thrown don’t scare them. Glenn sees a quarterback who was in the MVP hunt with the Seahawks in 2022.

“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. I know he had his struggles. I think a lot of quarterbacks have their struggles. If you look at over the last five years (at) the guys that have thrown the most interceptions, the top guys are up there.”

As for the history: “Those things you always weigh. To me, I didn’t think they’d be a detriment to us as an organization or to the fans. Obviously, there are some fans that probably didn’t like it, and I understand. But I think there were some fans that did like it. He has a fresh start, and I look forward to how he’s going to operate because he really, really wants this. Just going through the process of getting the quarterback, that’s something that stood out about him. He wants to be here. When you have guys that want to be here, want to be Jets, that makes it better.”

It would not be controversial to suggest that Smith was signed as a stopgap for whatever rookie quarterback the Jets add, but the Jets are open to the possibility that Smith can be their quarterback beyond 2026, too.

“I don’t think that’s a question for me to answer because he can go out there and throw for 4,000 yards and have 30 touchdowns and no interceptions, and you think, we’re just going to let him go?” Glenn said. “That just goes by year. I do know this: He’s excited about being here. He’s going to be our quarterback, and I look forward to that.”

2. The Jets are exploring the quarterback options in the NFL Draft — but that doesn’t mean they’ll be drafting one early.

The Jets have sent a contingent out on the Pro Day circuit that included Glenn, Mougey, offensive coordinator Frank Reich, quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave and others. A big part of that tour has been about evaluating quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. They’ve conducted private workouts and/or had dinner with Ty Simpson (Alabama), Carson Beck (Miami), Drew Allar (Penn State) and Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), among others.

Call it due diligence — not a declaration of intent. Simpson is trending toward being a first-round pick, and it’s hard to ignore the biggest knocks against him: his size (6-1, 211) and his lack of experience (15 starts).

“We want the biggest sample size we can,” Mougey said. “It’s always projection with all these guys. The bigger the sample size, naturally you might feel better about it. We’ll evaluate it, and there’s a lot of good things to see in the games he did play.”

The Jets are still looking to add a veteran quarterback to back up Smith — Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook are the other QBs on the roster — and Mougey said that could happen before the draft.

3. They are optimistic about re-signing Breece Hall.

Mougey has a philosophy about waiting until after the NFL Draft to address any sort of contract extensions, so there won’t be any news on the franchise-tagged Hall before then. Still, the Jets seem optimistic that something will get done ahead of the July 15 deadline — after that point, Hall either would have to play on the tag or hold out.

Mougey said that “things are in a good place” and that he’s “hopeful” about getting a deal done.

Glenn said he spoke with Hall prior to the tag being placed.

“I’m a huge fan of Breece,” Glenn said. “I think he’s a top running back in this league. Once we get through the draft, I’m sure that’s going to be revisited. We’ll see how that goes. Breece knows where I stand, and he doesn’t need a lecture from me on how this goes. We talked before he got tagged, and he knows where he stands with me.”

4. They seem to understand how and why the Justin Fields experiment failed.

A year ago, Glenn waxed poetic about how the Jets were going to do something for Fields that no NFL coach he’d played for previously was able to do: Let him play quarterback. That didn’t work out — so, one year after signing Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract, they traded him to the Chiefs for a sixth-round pick (a remarkable haul considering how poorly he played in 2026).

Fields was often afraid to take shots downfield and was so afraid to make mistakes that he often held onto the ball just long enough to kill any chance of the Jets offense mounting a drive. The Jets don’t believe that will be an issue with Smith, who is known for being willing to take shots even when his windows are shrinking.

“That was a situation that just didn’t work out,” Glenn said. “I can’t sit here and say I regret it. I think Justin is a very good player. I put the fault on me. I didn’t do enough to put him in position to be successful. I’m always going to say that, that’s my job as the head coach … There were some things I’ve learned of: O.K., how do I identify what every player can do, so they can do a good job.”

5. A few things are on the table at No. 2 — though Arvell Reese still feels like the favorite.

The Jets have some level of optionality with the No. 2 pick, though Reese and David Bailey still feel like the early favorites if the Jets stick at that spot. Glenn did make sure to point out that he doesn’t subscribe so much to positional value as simply picking the best player — something he said was drilled to him when he worked for Sean Payton with the Saints, and a philosophy that worked when the Lions went against the grain and picked a running back (Jahmyr Gibbs) and off-ball linebacker (Jack Campbell) in the first round in 2023. Both became Pro Bowlers.

“You’ve got to shut out the outside noise,” Glenn said. “Who you love, if you love the player, go get the player. I truly believe in that. If you love the player, go get the player. Regardless of positional value. If you love the player, go and get him. Me and Dan (Campbell) worked together in New Orleans all those years and that never left us. I’m not changing that either, and that’s something that we talk about a lot, and we utilize that. If we love the player, we’ll go get him.”

So while the buzz says Reese or Bailey, that quote would indicate players like safety Caleb Downs or linebacker Sonny Styles shouldn’t be ruled out entirely.

Still, Reese feels like the favorite because of his massive potential rooted in his athleticism, size and demeanor. Glenn compared it to the path All-Pro edge rusher Danielle Hunter took to the NFL.

“The first thing is the traits. Arm length. Weight. Speed. Ankle flexion. All those things you’re trying to look at,” Glenn said about Reese. “Then the coach that can actually coach him to get to that next level. And then does he have the football character to allow himself to be coached to do those things? All those things have to be evaluated with a guy like that.”

With Hunter, “his stats (in college) weren’t up there, but he had all the traits, and he had a coach that could coach him to be where he’s at now. So I look at it the same way of: It’s a combo of the traits and the football character. Is that player coachable enough to do the things you want him to do to be successful?”

Mougey also indicated the Jets would be open to a trade-back if the opportunity presented itself.

“Everything is always on the table,” Mougey said. “As we pivot from this, the focus will be on the draft and building the draft board. I’m always going to pick up the phone and have conversations.”

6. Expect an outsized role for Mason Taylor in 2026.

The Jets drafted Taylor in the second round last year and were high on the tight end’s potential. He flashed it at times in 2025 but struggled to get going in an offense without any consistent quarterback play. Now that both Reich and Smith are in tow, Taylor’s fortunes should change this season.

Glenn was asked to name a player flying under the radar that could make a leap: He picked Taylor.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what Mason does this year,” Glenn said. “I think Mason is going to have a hell of a year, I really do … I’m excited about that player. If you ask me for one person, Mason is a guy that’s going to take another step.”

Glenn said he and Taylor had a productive conversation in their exit interviews that was especially encouraging. He called it “one of the realest conversations I’ve had.”

Taylor laid out things he felt like he needed to improve on and told Glenn to hold him accountable for those things.

“He was adamant about the things he wants to get better at,” Glenn said.