🔥 Aaron Glenn Hot Seat Meter Week 7: Did the Dolphins just seal Glenn's fate?

For the past 48 hours since the New York Jets' historic loss Sunday to the Dolphins, the world has been asking the same question - is this it for Aaron Glenn?

As I sit here and write this article on Tuesday, the answer appears to be not yet. But, just because he lives to coach another day, doesn't mean this wasn't the game that sealed his fate.

A historic loss

0-8 against the AFC East under Glenn. A tenth loss in the last eleven meetings against the division. And a total record of 3-14 for the Jets against the Dolphins across their last seventeen games.

To say this was a tough one diminishes the word.

Making matters worse, the Jets' defense (Glenn's defense) got gashed by a career backup quarterback and a team that hadn't won a game coming in-- and from the opening drive, no less.

If you're reading this article, I assume it means you watched the game, so I'm not going to make you relive it. Instead, I'll actually try to offer some consolation.

The Dolphins might have been the best 0-5 team in football history. Of their five losses, three were to the only three remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL, and the other two were to solid ones with winning records. In fact, the combined record of the Dolphins' first five opponents coming into Sunday was 24-5.

Translation: it was still bad, but it wasn't the massive step backwards you may think it was.

All that being said, though I don't think he would have been offered much benefit regardless, once again, Glenn made matters worse with his approach to post-game commentary.

Words matter more when the results are bad

"We need to get better at that."

"I'll have to go back and look at that."

"It starts with me."

If I were a speechwriter who hated my boss, those are the responses I'd draft.

"It starts with me." - Great sentence for your introductory press conference. Essentially a letter of resignation after a 2-5 start. If it starts with you, then who do you think it ends with?

While you may get a pass for the first few weeks of a new season to use these cookie-cutter responses, seven weeks in, we expect more detail.

For one, as losses pile up, these pressers are the only context we get for how soon we should expect wins. More importantly, it's your chance as coach to show us that you have any semblance of what's going on.

Specifically, there's been so much made of you taking the defense over, so when questions are asked about that defense, how are you not able to offer more than a blanket answer?

"All week on film, we saw them run a flood concept out of this unbalanced set, so we decided to roll the safeties to the field to give us the numbers. Today, they ran naked away instead and had us beat."

That's the level of comprehension I'd expect from a coach when something you called didn't work. An explanation of why it was called, based in fact, an acknowledgement of what they did to counter, and the undertone of accountability.

Nobody is naive about the fact that football is a guessing game. But an educated guess is not the same as a blind one. When a guess fails, at least make us feel secure that it was the right kind.

Last, but perhaps most importantly, how you command the press is an indication of how you command your team. Nitpicking aside, Glenn is clearly not in charge.

He seems like a likable guy. He doesn't throw his players or staff under any buses. But he's also not holding any reins.

I'm not saying he should be up there yelling at reporters (though I wouldn't quite hate it, either), but grab the sides of the podium, look into the crowd, and control the environment.

All indications, to me, point to a belief that Glenn appears more interested in being liked than being respected.

A failure in command

From continued playfulness with referees, to his self-dig with Aditi Kinkhabwala at halftime, to his ruffle-no-feathers approach with the media, Glenn seems to be the latest in the long line of coordinators turned head coaches who lack the intangibles required of the position.

Nick Saban is not the greatest football coach in the history of the sport because of his brilliant defensive playbook. In fact, he never called plays at all. He was the best because he created an environment and an expectation and maintained them.

I'm not sure exactly when we shifted to a collective belief that head coaching responsibilities were so insignificant that adding the responsibility of calling plays was no big deal, but the Jets should probably focus on getting one of the two right before trying to kill birds they can't find with stones they don't have.

Personally, I feel bad for Glenn. He was born (drafted) into a family of dysfunction. He's earned his chance to be a head coach, but his loyalty may now be the reason he never gets another shot.

As it is, this loss is the first in the Glenn era with the power to dismantle the regime.

Current Heat: 9.2 ️🔥🔥🔥

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow