Aaron Glenn confirms what Jets fans already knew about his 2026 plans

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn addressed the media today for the first time since the end of the 2025 season at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and he confirmed exactly what fans have known since the roller coaster that was the defensive coordinator hiring process.

He'll be going back to his Detroit Lions days, taking a hands-on approach with the defense and calling the plays, despite the hiring of new defensive coordinator Brian Duker.

Glenn made a point that it was something he missed throughout the 2025 season, and is excited to be back in control of the phase of the game that earned him his first head coaching opportunity.

Aaron Glenn confirms he'll be calling plays for the Jets defense

The Jets' defense was an abject disaster under former DC Steve Wilks in 2025. They found a way to become the first team in NFL history to not record an interception in a 17-game season and ranked close to last in almost all major categories.

Glenn hopes to remedy that next season. ESPN's Rich Cimini shared that the head coach stressed to reporters at his press conference his belief that he can get the defense right in 2026.

"To me, play calling is my superpower, really. Doing it for four years in Detroit, and, man, just look at the maturation of those four years, of how we improved every year, and how I improved as a play caller. I really missed doing that. I think it’s a huge part of helping us become the team that I see us becoming."

Aaron Glenn

It's going to take a lot more than just a different play caller to improve the Jets' defense next season. After trading away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, New York has a bit of a talent deficiency on the defensive side of the ball.

The Jets are loaded with capital to land new contributors, though. New York has close to $80 million in cap space to work with, according to Over the Cap, and of course, the premier draft picks they received in the aforementioned deadline deals.

Hopefully, with some new starters via free agency and a blue-chip defensive talentor two in the draft, Glenn can turn around a dreadful Jets defense that ranked 30th in the league last season in Sumer Sports' defensive efficiency.

Otherwise, he'll likely be calling defensive plays again in 2027. Just not for the Jets.