As one of the most sought-after coaching candidates in the NFL, Aaron Glenn interviewed with several teams last season. But by his own admission, he only wanted one.
New York Jets.
Glenn was a former Jet player before having a highly successful coaching career, and he promised changes during his introduction as New York’s coach in January.
“Put your seatbelts on and get ready for the ride,” he said.
Ten months later, the route of that flight went straight down.
And Sunday’s Week 7 loss brought the Jets closer to the misery the franchise had hoped Glenn’s hiring would make a thing of the past.
In a 13-6 loss to Carolina that dropped the Jets to 0-7, including 0-5 at home, New York benched quarterback Justin Fields, who paid $30 million guaranteed to sign as a free agent just last spring.
It is only the third time in the Jets’ 65-year history, joining 1996 and 2020, that they have started a season 0-7, and Glenn is the first franchise coach to lose his first seven games.
The Jets, the only remaining winless team in the NFL, continued many of the troubling trends that contributed to their winless season — uneven quarterback play, a porous offensive line and an inability to force turnovers on the defense.
“We have to be able to finish these low-scoring games,” Glenn said Sunday. “The thing is, our guys are fighting. There’s no retreat.”
The Jets, who have the third-worst winning percentage in the NFL (.350) since their last playoff appearance in 2010, are accustomed to horrific results. They entered last season with Super Bowl aspirations with quarterback Aaron Rodgers healthy, Only to fire their coach And the highest-paid football executive is on his way to a 5-12 record. late in the season, The Athletic reported That owner Woody Johnson’s teenage sons influenced some roster decisions and that trade was canceled because the owner felt the player rating in the video game “Madden” was not high enough. (A Jets spokesman at the time said the sons’ input was “used as a reference point.”)
This season was supposed to be a new era. After criticism in 2024, Johnson reportedly gave up some control over team decisions, and the team’s new management dismantled Rodgers and signed Fields, a former first-round pick. Then, in Week 1, they had to watch Rodgers gloat after outlasting Fields to beat his former team.
New York did not sign Fields, expecting the midfielder known more for his mobility than his passing ability to significantly change his playing style. But by week six, things had gone backwards. Fields threw for just 45 yards, and New York finished with a worst net pass pass of minus 10 yards.
Entering Sunday, the Jets had the third-worst offense in the NFL and the 20th-ranked defense. However, the game against the Panthers appears to offer one of New York’s best chances this season for its first win. Although Carolina has won two games in a row, it has not been tremendous, as it has been generally outplayed for the season. The Panthers’ defense ranked 21st in points allowed.
However, the aircraft attack was powerless once again. He produced just 12 first downs on 11 punts and failed to score a first-half touchdown for the sixth straight game — the first time the franchise has done so since 2000. With the ball approaching midfield in the final minute before halftime, the Jets didn’t even attempt a Hail Mary throw, ending the first half instead on a sack.
Trailing 13-3 in the third quarter, the Jets benched Fields, which Glenn, who previously backed up Fields, said was his decision. Tyrod Taylor, Fields’ backup, had two interceptions.
Fields said he was “somewhat” surprised but “can’t be angry about the decision,” he told reporters. “I understand why.”
Even with Carolina losing its starting quarterback, Bryce Young, to an ankle injury late in the third quarter and never scoring again, the Jets still couldn’t capitalize. What was particularly notable was New York’s inability to defend its forced turnovers. She produced just one hit, the fewest in the NFL, in seven games. Glenn’s defense in Detroit last season finished third in creating takeaways.
“Obviously, wins heal a lot in this league.” Taylor saidCaliph of the fields. “And we haven’t had the opportunity to put one of those together.
“The message has to be the same, the work has to continue throughout the week, and us going out and executing at a high level, one play at a time, is what we need on game day. Not spurts of it, not a quarter of it, not a half of it, but for four full quarters.”