🔥 Aaron Glenn Hot Seat Meter: Rainy Week 2 collapse turns up the heat

Last week, Aaron Glenn played contrarian to symbolism by cooling his coaching seat with a win in scorching weather.

This week, the same analogy worked in the opposite order as an ugly finish to an otherwise close game raised the temperature back up despite cold New Jersey rain.

After an uncharacteristically steady performance in Week 1, New York Jets fans allowed themselves to wonder if it was finally appropriate to ask the question they've not had a chance to ask in years - "Is the absurdity over at last?"

Did this game undo the Week 1 victory for Aaron Glenn?

Three quarters into Sunday's Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers, the fanbase actually even started the long exhale they've waited so long to take. Then, the proverbial floodgates opened, making way for that all-too-familiar experience Jet Nation has become almost numb to.

Losing because you are simply outmatched from a talent standpoint can be tough. Losing because of mental errors or questionable decisions is an entirely different kind of heartburn. For Jets fans, there isn't an antacid in the world big enough to cure this condition over the last several years.

The Cleveland Browns have an affinity for squandering talent and quarterbacks. The Las Vegas Raiders never seem to hit on any of their many high draft picks. And the New York Jets beat themselves and leave you scratching your head at what they were thinking. That's the established dynamic at the bottom.

No matter who has been at the podium post-game or under center throughout that day's contest, there's almost a rinse-and-repeat feel to these kinds of situations that's loomed over the Jets from regime to regime.

While the absurdity of Adam Gase stood in its own sort of silo, and the "All fluff, no delivery" hypocrisy of Robert Saleh felt like gaslighting, if there's one deficiency Jets fans have no more tolerance for from their head coaches, it's got to be poor game management.

In his second year, and literally just as you were starting to feel like he might become the exception to the trend, Aaron Glenn showed on Sunday that there is legitimate reason to wonder whether he might be the worst perpetuator of this brand identity yet.

There's nothing quite like losing when the man who is supposed to be in charge appears not to fully understand what he is in charge of.

For as hard as it is to build a team, prepare them to compete, develop an intelligent game plan, execute that plan, and weather all of the guaranteed wrenches that will be thrown at you throughout a game, understanding the rules of the sport and knowing how to navigate them in order to give your team the best chance to win is supposed to be something of a prerequisite for any head coach.

Is the ending worse for Aaron Glenn because things were going well?

Though the pain of the last few minutes of this week's game looms justifiably large, I'd be betraying my journalistic integrity if I didn't first acknowledge all the good that it helped overshadow.

In the first half on Sunday, I made several notes. First, the Jets' defense displayed a subtle difference from those of years past - they seemed to care. After many positive plays, there was high-fiving, clear (but tasteful) celebration, and a genuine joy from teammate to teammate. It didn't scream "new culture," but it certainly was a contrast to the ego-led "star"-studded defense of 2024 who, aside from Quincy Williams, seemed concerned only with individual recognition.

Numerous nice plays by Azareye'h Thomas drove this belief home nicely. Before we get too far away from the point here, because Glenn has taken over the defense just this year, this small example of a possible shift in humility should be a credit to him. The fact that Thomas, specifically, was a 2025 draft pick for Glenn. Point and a half for the coach.

The next show of progress was in that of the penalty differential. Not the number per se, as both teams were charged, but the type. While nearly all of the Packers' first-half penalties were discipline-related (false start, delay of game, etc.), the Jets' were what I would call "effort" penalties (holding, block in the back, etc.).

Worth noting, if nothing else, is that over the last several years, you'd have flipped it for these two teams in particular. Matt LaFleur's Packers execute. They are sharp. They are high-brow football minds. The Jets, on the other hand, surprise nobody when they suffer bonehead mistakes. The impression it gave of the Jets mentally getting the better of a league darling like the Packers, another point for Glenn.

The last detail, and the one I think is most important, was the number of forced fumbles the Jets had. While they only recovered one, the Jets' defense forced the Packers to put the ball on the ground four times.

For the team and defense who were sufficiently clowned by the world for their lack of a single turnover last year, this certainly suggested a concerted effort on Glenn's part to nip that bud pronto. In other words - point, point, plus for the coach.

Now, the antithesis...

A 4th and 1 decision and bad play call, a very questionable lack of timeout use, and a cringe-worthy overtime possession approach. Since a deeper analysis of the exact series of decisions that cost the Jets this past Sunday can be explored in the links above, let's keep the focus on the impact it will likely have on the general perception of Glenn and his job security.

For one thing, don't do these things. However, if you do these things, don't confirm in your post-game interview that you didn't know not to do these things.

The general lack of confidence Glenn exuded to the media in his decision-making explosion is undoubtedly the worst omen in all of this. 51 seconds is not 11 seconds. A longer field does not constitute a reason not to try. And even if your offense had put up 70 points in regulation, everyone knows you elect to kick first with the new NFL overtime rules.

LaFleur and the Packers gave you a nine-lap head start in a 10-lap race, and not only did they still win, but they ran the tenth lap in a way that somehow showed, clear as day, that it was never close.

Current Heat: 7.8 (and rising quickly..) 🧨

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