Dan Campbell basically crowned Aaron Glenn the NY Jets’ football messiah

If Glenn can't save the Jets, who can?

Justin Fried

Aaron Glenn / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Jets have spent the better part of the last decade searching for stability. They’ve cycled through head coaches, quarterbacks, and general managers, each arriving with promises of a new era, only to become part of the same old story.

Now, the Jets are once again pressing reset, and they’re placing their hopes in a familiar face with a fresh voice: Aaron Glenn.

Glenn arrives in Florham Park tasked with more than just improving the on-field product. He’s here to rebuild a broken culture, reconnect a fractured locker room, and finally steer the franchise out of the NFL’s basement.

A former Jets standout himself, Glenn brings credibility, intensity, and a reputation as a respected leader — exactly the type of figure this organization has lacked.

The Jets are hoping he can be the guy who finally changes the tone around the entire franchise. And if you ask one of Glenn’s closest allies, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, the Jets might’ve found the right man for the job.

"As long as he’s got the support, [Aaron Glenn] will turn that thing around. There’s no question. He’s an unbelievable leader and he’s an even better person. He’s the type of guy who makes people rally around him and do things to help him have success. So he is going to bring the right type of people around him. He’s already done that with the coaches, and he’ll bring the right kind of players. Look, if he can’t, nobody can, that’s my opinion."
Dan Campbell

Dan Campbell believes Aaron Glenn can save the NY Jets

Campbell knows Glenn better than just about anyone in the NFL. The two spent five years together in New Orleans, where Glenn served as the New Orleans Saints’ defensive backs coach while Campbell was the assistant head coach and tight ends coach.

When Campbell was hired as the head coach of the Detroit Lions in 2021, one of his first moves was bringing Glenn with him as his defensive coordinator.

Glenn played a key role in helping turn around one of the NFL’s most downtrodden franchises, developing young talent and helping instill the gritty, resilient culture that now defines the Lions. The hope in New York is that he can do the same for the Jets.

The Jets have made it clear this offseason that they’re not interested in half-measures. The organization parted ways with several of the biggest names from the previous era, including Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams.

Justin Fields was brought in to headline that new direction, and while the Jets are aware he may not be the long-term solution, he at least offers the allure of upside that many of the other options on the market couldn't.

The Jets are betting that with the right infrastructure and leadership in place — starting with Aaron Glenn — they can finally build something stable. Something sustainable. Something different.

If Aaron Glenn can’t be the one to finally turn things around in New York, well, as Campbell put it, maybe no one can.

More NY Jets news and analysis:

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.