Jets’ meltdown exposed Aaron Glenn’s troubling shades of past failed coaches

What's old is new again. That's especially true in New York Jets land, where the phrase "Same ole Jets" isn't bandied about for no reason. After a thrilling season opener that ended in a heartbreaking loss, New York's performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 had the Tri-State area buzzing with those words again. Same. Old. Jets.

The excitement entering the rivalry matchup was palpable. The green and white faithful were ready to believe in the new regime, in the new coach, their former star cornerback, Aaron Glenn.

But just before the hype got too loud, Glenn took a page from his predecessors' book and had Jets fans reliving the nightmares of the past during the 30-10 beatdown at MetLife.

Jets' Week 2 performance has Aaron Glenn following in the tragic footsteps of his predecessors

When the Jets hired Glenn, it was to rectify the sins of the previous regime, as has been the case the last couple of times the Jets' coaching carousel has spun.

After years of offensive ineptitude under defensive-minded head coaches, the Jets looked to solve the problem by hiring Adam Gase, best known as the guy who rode Peyton Manning's coattails, the first offensive-minded head coach the organization had hired since Rich Kotite in 1995.

Owner Christopher Johnson praised Gase for "coaching to where football is going," though no one knew at the time that he was referring to back to the stone age based on Gase's propensity to call upon an aging Frank Gore to run HB dives into the teeth of the defense as a focal point of his offense.

Gase brought with him Bounty Gate mastermind Gregg Williams to serve as defensive coordinator and as "head coach" of the defense. Despite some initial misgivings, fans were excited, and the Jets' Week 1 performance in 2019 showed promise, even if it ended in a 17-16 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills in what was a fourth-quarter defensive collapse.

However, the wind was quickly taken out of everyone's sails in Week 2, when the Jets were served a 23-3 beatdown by the Cleveland Browns. From there on out, it was only downhill.

When Gase was fired after two abysmal years, Robert Saleh was brought in to be the CEO type after the Jets learned the hard way that the division between offensive and defensive coaching staffs didn't work.

The Jets opened Saleh's tenure in much the same fashion, going down 16-0 early against the Carolina Panthers before rallying with two fourth-quarter touchdowns that proved to be too little, too late as they took the loss 19-14. Still, the late rally showed a level of fight that hadn't been present in years, and as a result, fans were excited.

That is, until Week 2 of 2021, when the arch-rival New England Patriots came to town and dismantled the Jets 25-6 in what was a lifeless performance.

Saleh was fired in-season last year, a rare move for the Jets, yet a necessary one. A key issue that emerged over his tenure was a lack of accountability. That's why when Aaron Glenn was hired to bring that culture of accountability back that had long been lacking, it once again galvanized the fan base.

Glenn's Jets put together a thrilling Week 1 performance, though a 60-yard field goal by Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell would send them to a 34-32 defeat. Still, the electric performance was enough to make fans believe that Glenn's vision had set in, giving hope.

And then, Week 2 happened. The Jets were undisciplined and outclassed on the field, and the feel-good vibes evaporated in an instant. Maybe the culture of accountability isn't going to work after all?

It's way too early to close the book on Aaron Glenn, but his similarities with his predecessors are striking. Each was brought in to rectify the previous leader's fatal flaw, each showed promise despite taking home a Week 1 loss, and then each was completely outclassed in their Week 2 matchup to start their tenure.

Glenn will need a standout performance in Week 3 to break this trend; otherwise, the comparisons will begin to take hold, and the pressure will mount.

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