Woody Johnson’s latest blunder just saved Aaron Glenn from more criticism

If there's one thing Woody Johnson is good for, it's being a lightning rod for media attention and criticism. The New York Jets owner has an uncanny ability to take the heat off others and place it squarely on his own shoulders, whether he intends to or not.

That's exactly what Johnson did when speaking to reporters at the NFL meetings in New York City on Tuesday. When asked about the sorry state of his franchise, Johnson took the opportunity to publicly torch his starting quarterback, Justin Fields, essentially blaming him for all his team's struggles.

Johnson defended Aaron Glenn, calling him the "real deal," before insisting that it would be impossible for any head coach to succeed with the quarterback play he's received.

Johnson took every opportunity to pin the blame squarely on Fields, and while his mission to defend Glenn may have been accomplished, it certainly didn’t unfold the way he intended.

No one is talking about Aaron Glenn anymore — Johnson absorbed all that criticism himself. In one fell swoop, the spotlight shifted from the Jets’ head coach to their owner, and Glenn’s seat suddenly feels at least a little cooler heading into Week 8.

Woody Johnson's burial of Justin Fields might have bought Aaron Glenn more time

Glenn has found himself the subject of intense scrutiny by fans and media alike following the Jets' 0-7 start to the season. Expectations were considerably low for the Jets entering 2025. Fans were well aware that this team was not projected to compete for a championship this year.

The bar was metaphorically in hell, and somehow — as they always do — the Jets still managed to fall short of expectations. The Jets are the worst team in the NFL and once again the laughingstock of the league.

This is a football team that hasn’t scored a first-half touchdown since Week 1 — the same team with just one takeaway through seven games and an offense on pace to be one of the worst in recent NFL memory.

It was supposed to be bad, but it wasn't supposed to be this bad.

Combine the team’s on-field struggles with questions about effort, questionable in-game management, and widely criticized press conferences, and you have a perfect recipe for losing whatever built-in goodwill existed within the organization.

Glenn has done himself no favors this season, but Johnson is right in saying that a lot of the team's struggles stem from the quarterback position. The only problem is that said quarterback was the hand-picked choice of this new regime.

The Jets signed Fields with the belief that Glenn and his staff could maximize his talents and elevate the team's offense. Instead, Fields is playing the worst football of his career and was just benched after six starts.

The Jets’ coaching staff deserves plenty of criticism for how this season has unraveled. Fortunately for them, Woody Johnson accomplished his mission of deflecting attention and taking the heat off Aaron Glenn.

It just didn’t happen the way he probably imagined.