Jets insider reveals must-win game for Aaron Glenn after NFL schedule release

Technically speaking, nearly every NFL game during the season’s first month is a “must-win.”

But, when you’re amid another rebuild as the New York Jets are, it’s rare that such pressure applies to the Week 1 opener.

Then again, most organizations aren’t the Jets, and most teams don’t begin their season against their former head coach.

Aaron Glenn and the Jets will start the 2026 season against Cam Ward, Robert Saleh, and the Titans. Saleh, the former 49ers defensive coordinator, coached the Jets from 2021 through October 2024.  

ESPN’s Rich Cimini called the Week 1 clash a “very winnable” game for Glenn’s Jets, who haven’t finished above .500 since 2015.  

However, as Cimini noted, a 0–1 start for the Jets could be extremely troublesome given the context.

“A loss to his predecessor would rile up an impatient fan base,” Cimini wrote, “which would freak out if it sees a triumphant Saleh chest-bumping Jermaine Johnson II, one of many ex-Jets on the Titans’ roster.”  

Could the Jets fire Aaron Glenn during the 2026 season?

The October 2024 firing of Saleh marked the first time the Jets dismissed a head coach midseason since owner Woody Johnson took over in 2000.

If the Jets already lack faith in Glenn, it would have made more sense to fire him after last year’s disastrous 3–14 finish.

The Jets’ record-setting inability to record an interception wasn’t their only problem.

Glenn frequently came under fire for his heated interactions with the media. He also went viral for celebrating during a Week 3 collapse against the Buccaneers.

We’ve seen teams succeed after going one-and-done with a rookie head coach.

The Patriots just reached the Super Bowl after firing Jerod Mayo and hiring Mike Vrabel.  

What’s done is done, and the Jets opted to stick with Glenn.

However, when one of the team’s primary beat reporters is already speculating about the aftermath of a possible Week 1 loss, that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.

To be clear, nothing that Cimini said is wrong.

Instead, as with their lack of primetime games, it’s yet another disappointing reflection on how far the Jets have fallen — and that’s saying plenty.

For his sake, Glenn better hope that the Jets leave Nashville with a winning record for the first time in his young coaching career.

Otherwise, it might not be long before we’re already speculating who will coach the Jets in 2027.

Not that some of us aren’t already doing that, of course.

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