3 benchmarks Aaron Glenn must hit in 2026 season to prove he's right for the job

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn had a difficult first season at the helm in 2025, which is common for a rookie head coach.

For example, the Texas native was a defensive coordinator on the Detroit Lions when rookie head coach Dan Campbell went 3-13-1 in 2021, but the team went 9-8 the following year before reaching the NFC Championship Game and Divisional Game in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

It will be hard for the Jets to improve that quickly under Glenn, as they went 3-14 last season and still don't have their long-term quarterback. However, he must show enough promise to be worth keeping by the time they acquire that signal-caller, which will likely be next offseason.

Here are three statistical benchmarks that New York must hit next season for Glenn to earn a third campaign:

Jets must be middle of the pack in takeaways

New York ranked 32nd with 0.2 takeaways per game last season and became the first NFL team since 1933 to not record an interception all year. There's nowhere to go but up in that regard.

Glenn not only announced in February that he'll call the plays on defense next season, but that playcalling is his "superpower," via Rady Lange of the team's website. If the Jets generate around a league-average amount of takeaways after being historically bad in that category, that statement will age well. For reference, there was a three-way tie for 20th with 1.1 average takeaways in 2025.

There's no excuse not to see improvement, as the Jets added unanimous All-American edge rusher David Bailey as well as veterans like safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, linebacker Demario Davis and cornerback Nahshon Wright. It's not a stacked unit, but it shouldn't be at the bottom of the barrel again.

Jets must have fewer blowout losses

It's one thing to be a rebuilding team, and it's another to have the league's worst point differential. New York ranked 32nd with a -203 point differential last season and lost each of the final five games by at least 23 points.

The Jets lost six total games by three possessions or more, a number they must at least cut in half in 2026. Staying in more games will help Glenn establish a winning culture, even if the playoffs aren't in the cards yet.

Jets must be around league average in sacks

Another area New York struggled in last season was sacks, ranking 31st with 1.5 per game. That can't happen again after drafting Bailey No. 2 overall, as he'll line up opposite veteran Will McDonald IV. The latter player tied for 25th in the NFL with eight sacks in 2025 after notching a career-high 10.5 in 2024.

There was a four-way tie for 15th with 2.3 team sacks per game last season, and that's a good number for the Jets to aim for in 2026. They should at least approach that mark with an established talent like McDonald and a star prospect in Bailey, who tallied 14.5 sacks at Texas Tech in 2025.

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