New report raises concerns about Woody Johnson's role in Jets coaching decisions

For weeks, if not months, it appeared that Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets were on a fairly clear and predictable path with their coaching staff. Wink Martindale seemed destined to become the team’s next defensive coordinator, while Glenn appeared set to maintain relative continuity on offense.

Then, seemingly overnight, everything abruptly changed. The Martindale deal fell through, the Jets fired offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, and Glenn's entire vision — the one he had spent the last year preaching to Jets fans — was completely flipped on its head.

A new report has now added a layer of clarity to a situation that many have already speculated could involve influence from ownership. WFAN's Shaun Morash reported on Tuesday that Jets owner Woody Johnson stepped in behind the scenes and forced Glenn's hand with various coaching decisions.

This includes squashing the potential Martindale hire, firing Engstrand, and pivoting to Frank Reich and a host of veteran options to run the team's offense.

While it should be noted that Morash is hardly considered a reputable national reporter, the timeline he describes aligns closely with how events unfolded, which raises legitimate questions about the extent of Johnson’s involvement.

Did Woody Johnson intervene and force Aaron Glenn's hand?

The assumption for weeks was that Martindale was set to become the team’s next defensive coordinator, with discussions between the longtime NFL assistant and Glenn dating back to the end of last season.

By the time Martindale was scheduled to visit Florham Park two Saturdays ago, the meeting was viewed as little more than a formality. Instead, he was reportedly informed that the Jets were pivoting in a different direction altogether.

Glenn reportedly decided he wanted to call defensive plays himself, which eliminated the need for a veteran coordinator like Martindale and instead pushed the team toward pairing him with a younger defensive assistant.

At the same time, the Jets moved quickly to part ways with several coaches across both sides of the ball, and reports emerged that Engstrand’s role as offensive coordinator and play-caller was suddenly in jeopardy.

Within days, Engstrand was out, Martindale was no longer a candidate, and the Jets’ staff looked dramatically different from what it had just a week earlier. So, either Glenn had a total change of heart and abandoned every principle of his football philosophy in the span of two weeks...or Johnson may have intervened.

Johnson reportedly questioned why the team would commit significant money to a head coach only to pay another high-priced assistant to run the defense. The reported belief was that if Glenn is being paid like a top-tier coach, he should be the one calling plays.

That intervention allegedly reshaped the staff, redirecting resources toward hiring a veteran presence on offense instead of defense. That's around the time the Reich reports started as well.

One portion of Morash’s report warrants additional skepticism, particularly the suggestion that general manager Darren Mougey has warned others away from working for the Jets.

Given Mougey’s continued role with the team and his absence from the Senior Bowl, that claim is a bit harder to reconcile and should be treated cautiously. Even so, the broader timeline does seem to add up in this situation.

Ironically, the end result here may not be a bad one. Glenn calling defensive plays while pairing himself with an experienced offensive leader could be a more appealing on-field setup than the original plan. Still, the process is nonetheless concerning.

The report echoes familiar patterns from Johnson’s past, including his role in forcing Robert Saleh to move on from Mike LaFleur and overriding front-office authority under Joe Douglas.

Whether or not this specific outcome works, it raises a familiar and uncomfortable question. If ownership does not trust its hires to make decisions, why keep them in charge in the first place?

We may not have a solidified answer for some time, but all signs certainly suggest Woody Johnson may have played a role in the Jets' mess of a coaching search this offseason. And, in reality, is anyone shocked?