Aaron Glenn explains why Jets fans should still believe after dreadful 2025 season

While expectations were low, the New York Jets still managed to disappoint in 2025. A 3-14 record and the second overall pick is bad. Losing the last five games to close out the season, all in blowout fashion, is worse.

Rookie head coach Aaron Glenn opened the season by saying he'd evaluate success by putting a team on the field that the fans could be proud of. To that end, he failed. Miserably.

No one expected the Jets to be good, of course. Even less so after the team sold off star defenders Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner at the trade deadline. However, what was needed to be shown in order for Glenn to achieve his goal was growth and progress. That didn't happen.

To his credit, after closing out the season with a 35-8 dismantling at the hands of the division rival Buffalo Bills, Glenn fell on the sword and threw the blame for the tragic season on his shoulders. But the former Jets cornerback also had more to say.

Aaron Glenn tries to inspire hope in Jets fans after the 2025 season went off the rails

Per Zack Rosenblatt, Glenn had the following to say:

"I think you guys know my history. I’ve been there and I’ve done that. That’s where my confidence is not shaken. I can go all the way back to my time in Cleveland, in New Orleans, in Detroit. I’ve been there, done that. I understand what everyone on the outside is saying and I’m going to take all those arrows. That’s ok. I do know this: it’s going to turn. I’m very confident in that."

Aaron Glenn

Glenn's right about one thing: as a defensive coordinator, he had a lot of success turning around failing defenses, and those contributions helped keep those teams on track.

However, that work came as a coordinator. In his last two stops, in particular, he coached under very highly regarded coaches. Sean Payton in New Orleans is one of the most respected coaches in the game, and his quick turnaround with the Denver Broncos is a testament to his ability to lead a team.

The Detroit Lions had a disappointing 2025 campaign, but over the last couple of years, Dan Campbell has been one of the NFL coaching ranks' rising stars.

The Jets need to look no further than Robert Saleh to see what a difference it is to be successful as a coordinator versus as a head coach. Just because a guy has success running an offense or a defense doesn't mean he'll be successful as the general of the whole team.

However, Glenn's tenure as a coordinator also shows us that he hasn't brought results overnight. Glenn took over the Lions' defense in 2021, and that season the team finished second-to-last in points per game allowed, with 27.5.

The only team worse was the Jets at 29.6. However, by 2024, he had transformed that unit into a force, and the Lions ranked seventh, allowing 20.1 points per game.

Glenn likely gets his chance at redemption in 2026. If the Jets fired him after just one season, they'd turn the head coaching job from something undesirable to a radioactive proposition that no one in their right mind would touch.

Now, it's time for Glenn to get to work on righting the wrongs of 2025 and proving that he can walk the walk as well as talk the talk.