The New York Jets coaching search has ended and it ends with a familiar face taking the lead role.
The Jets have hired Aaron Glenn to be their new head coach. Glenn was the top defensive coordinator on the market from the Detroit Lions, but Jets fans remember #31 fondly from his time playing corner for Gang Green.
Glenn is the Jets former 1994 first-round pick, played eight seasons for them, then became a personnel scout for the team, went through many stops and paid his dues, and now after turning heads for the Lions defense will rejoin the organization at 52 years old.
As a member of the Jets, he made two Pro Bowls and recorded 24 interceptions before heading to the Houston Texans. His 24 picks rank 4th in team history and he added 36 breakups in 120 games with New York.
Glenn was requested for interviews with each of the first six coaching jobs that were open this offseason. Like a true New York Jet, he declined the Patriots but took meetings with the other five open spots.
The Jets have bucked a recent trend of hiring only inexperienced offensive coaches but the respect from his players can't be overstated. During the 2023 season, an NFLPA survey of players ranked Glenn as the top defensive coordinator in the league.
It isn't just current players that are celebrating the decision for Glenn to lead the Jets as quickly after the announcement Joe Namath took to social media to write "I’m hoping all New York Jets fans are as thrilled as my family and I are that Aaron Glenn is our new Head Coach. I wish the season would start next week!"
Glenn's departure from the Lions is something Detroit has not had to deal with since JFK's administration. The Lions had not had a coordinator become a head coach since then, and now they have lost their offensive coordinator in Ben Johnson this week when he went to the Bears, and now with Glenn going to the Jets.
There are still a lot of decisions to be made for New York with a GM search ongoing and Aaron Rodgers future with the team looming large, but the Jets have their head man and he can begin to assemble his coaching staff.