Aaron Glenn defends Woody Johnson and rejects Jets meddling rumors

January was a turbulent month for the New York Jets. A good majority of the coaching staff was cleaned out, and rumors and reports regarding Aaron Glenn's vision for the staff changed on a week-to-week basis.

At one point, Wink Martindale was the favorite to take over as defensive coordinator, and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand was expected to remain with the team but without playcalling duties.

In almost the blink of an eye, things changed. Instead of handing the reins of the defense over to Martindale, Glenn decided he was going to call the plays. Engstrand and the Jets parted ways, and Frank Reich was brought in to be the "head coach" of the offense.

Fans and analysts alike pointed to Jets owner Woody Johnson, infamous for meddling and putting his finger on the scale to make decisions within the organization. People felt it was Johnson who pushed Glenn in the direction of calling plays.

At his press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine, Glenn pushed back on the rumors and said nobody is forcing him to make decisions.

Aaron Glenn defends Woody Johnson amid Jets meddling rumors

When speaking with reporters, Glenn was asked a question regarding the premise that the Jets owner pushed him away from Martindale, telling him to call his own plays on defense.

The Jets head coach chaffed at the idea and took the opportunity to defend Johnson, via The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt.

"Here’s how he operates: I spoke to him about my vision about the coaching staff… his answer is always: what can I help you to be successful? I’m fortunate to have an owner who operates that way."

Aaron Glenn

Whatever happened at those closed-door meetings at Woody's compound in Palm Beach will likely never come to light. But Jets fans can take solace in the fact that Johnson is at least doing everything he can to put his head coach in a position to succeed.

Whether or not the Jets owner pushed Glenn into making a decision he did or didn't want to make, he's clearly the best option to be the de facto defensive coordinator of all the available candidates New York had at their disposal this offseason.

Sure, Martindale would've brought some juice. But it's not like his most recent defenses at Michigan and with the New York Giants were top-of-the-line units. Glenn's best choice was himself, regardless of the owner meddling or not; this was the best possible outcome for the 2026 offseason.