Aaron Glenn has no time for ‘Same Old Jets’ narrative after Week 3 heartbreak

The New York Jets are 0-3 and in a place that, on the surface, certainly doesn't feel unfamiliar. After all, losing has been customary in these parts, and there's a reason why the refrain "same old Jets" is regularly invoked.

However, after Sunday's loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, head coach Aaron Glenn fired back against the narrative. Glenn stated that he hates the term "same old Jets" while insisting "these guys are not the same" before making the hopeful observation that "these guys are going to fight no matter the situation."

With the longest-running playoff drought in American professional sports, that narrative won't change quickly. But does Glenn have a point? Or is he simply a coach who is desperately trying to cling to a shred of positivity in a start that hasn't gone exactly as planned?

Aaron Glenn makes some salient points regarding the "Same old Jets" narrative

First things first, Glenn is right about this not being the same, but not for what is happening on the field. For the first time in a long time, this is a completely different regime.

Going back, Mike Maccagnan outlasted Todd Bowles and stretched into the Adam Gase era. Adam Gase then outlasted Maccagnan and spanned into the Joe Douglas years, while Douglas held on through Robert Saleh's tenure.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Jets are starting fresh with a new head coach and a new general manager at the same time, with Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey being brought in together to create their vision for the next era of New York Jets football, and are doing so hand-in-hand. Simply put, there are no more holdovers, and this is a completely new regime.

To an extent, Glenn is delivering on exactly what he promised before the season began. The Jets are not a talented team, but they have fought hard in two of their losses and put up exciting performances.

Sandwiching the Week 2 stinker against the Buffalo Bills was a high-octane shootout against the Pittsburgh Steelers and a furious fourth-quarter rally that came up just short against the Buccaneers. After watching the Jets roll over countless times and put up lifeless performance after lifeless performance, you can't say he isn't on to something.

Still, this is a team with major flaws that need to be addressed, regardless of the talent deficiencies. The Jets have more talent on their defense than the atrocious performance on that side of the ball has shown thus far, and fans are already calling for Steve Wilks' head.

The offense, at times, has been too predictable, and in Tampa, Tanner Engstrand struggled for a lot of the game to scheme something up that would counter Bowles' blitz-heavy attack.

The seeds are there, but if Glenn truly wants to break the narrative, more is needed. The Jets can't settle on moral victories, when that has been what has been sold to the fanbase for the better part of the last decade and a half.

Instead, the "same old Jets" narrative will die when the team starts to consistently win some ballgames. They don't have to make the playoffs in 2025, and with a 0-3 start, that would be a long shot anyway.

But they do need to show improvement, win some games, and start showing progress in improving in areas where they have been coming up short. Right now, that means starting games off better and fixing a defense that's been among the league's worst.

Until that happens, the narrative won't die, no matter how much Glenn wishes it would go away.

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