Aaron Glenn’s camp pushes back on Woody Johnson meddling speculation

The New York Jets' assistant coach hiring process raised many questions in the first few weeks of the offseason.

It started with a lack of any changes, to Wink Martindale becoming the prospective favorite to land the vacant defensive coordinator gig, to offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand getting his role reduced before ultimately getting fired, and finally, 12 of Glenn's 22 original staff members getting shown the door.

But the one storyline that drove the most speculation throughout January was the change in the defensive coordinator search. How did Glenn go from nearly bringing Martindale into the fold to taking control of playcalling duties himself?

Some questioned if it was the doing of owner Woody Johnson, but according to ESPN's Rich Cimini, it was Glenn himself who made the decision to take the reins on defense.

Aaron Glenn's camp pushes back on the notion that Woody Johnson meddled in Jets' DC decision

According to Cimini, Glenn's camp denied the rumors that it was Johnson's directive that his head coach take over playcalling duties, saying "it was his decision to take control of the defense" and that it was part of an offseason plan that Glenn presented to Johnson and team brass at organizational meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, roughly a week earlier.

Now, it's entirely possible this is just Glenn and the Jets saving face. After all, it doesn't explain why the Martindale interest faded so fast after all the reports that he was a shoo-in for the job.

In fact, Cimini notes that a source close to Martindale explained that everything changed after their second in-person interview, and that Glenn had "changed the parameters of the job" following the meetings in Palm Beach.

What does make sense is Glenn's back being against the wall in 2026, knowing that this could be his final chance to prove he deserves to be the Jets head coach. If he wants to make sure the defense performs to the best of its ability, of course, he's going to put the onus on himself.

Instead of Martindale, Brian Duker is the Jets' new defensive coordinator, and after having coached with Glenn for three years with the Detroit Lions, he knows what his head coach is looking for in the defense.

If New York's defense does a complete turnaround in 2026, we'll know for sure if Glenn was correct for betting on himself.