How Jets training camp will look, sound and feel different under Aaron Glenn

New York Times

2 days ago

When Bill Parcells took over a downtrodden New York Jets team, most of the members of the 2025 Jets weren't even alive yet. Those were the days of hard-nosed, full-contact, brutal, two-a-day practices, the kind that would seem unfathomable to most modern NFL players. Parcells was hired in 1997 to fix a broken franchise, a team coming off a 1-15 season under Rich Kotite. Former Jets players tell stories of how Kottie would take calls on his cellphone in the middle of practice. The culture was poor, the team unorganized and directionless. And the players were miserable.
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They were still miserable after Parcells arrived, but for a different reason. It's the way he coached — grinding each player down, with those who could power through the suffering better for it. The Jets were better for it. Aaron Glenn, then a 25-year-old cornerback in his fourth season, was better for it. He made his first Pro Bowl that year.
'Finally someone was there to put people in their place and set the parameters of what's expected from you,' former Jets linebacker Chad Cascadden said. 'So when (Parcells) came in and set the tone and described what his culture is going to be like, I was like 'OK, good. It's about time.' That was why Parcells was able to turn things around quickly. He got rid of some guys that were only there to cash checks. But he also really pushed guys. Not everybody is the same — and he would say I'm not going to treat everybody the same because not everybody is the same. The best players are usually his favorite players, but he's going to get guys to play at their capacity.'
Glenn's foray into coaching was modeled after Parcells, the lessons he learned from him. Twenty-eight years after Parcells took over the Jets, Glenn is attempting something similar: pull the organization out of the abyss with a hard-nosed style of coaching. No, there won't be two-a-days, and the Jets probably won't be running any Oklahoma drills anytime soon. But the sound of pads crunching into each other, of defensive players tackling ball carriers, of offensive linemen blocking defensive linemen into the turf — that's making a comeback, it seems.
'It's a tackling sport, so in this game you got to block, and you got to tackle, and the only way you get good at that craft is to do it,' Glenn said during minicamp. 'I'm a firm believer in it. The players understand, they know that, and they want to get better, and if we want to be one of the better tackling teams and one of the better blocking teams in this League, at some point you have to do it. Now, I'm not saying you got to sit here and do it every day, and you also got to have a quick whistle, but there are times when you just have to practice and you have to do it.
The players report on Tuesday and the first practice is on Wednesday. As Glenn sets out to fix the many things that have ailed the Jets over the last couple of years, it will start there: This is not going to be an easy training camp.
The 2024 version of the Jets was one of the most dysfunctional in franchise history — which is no small feat. Over the last few years, the Jets were a team with the talent to win, but lacked the gumption to overcome adversity. They were often ill-prepared for stressful moments on Sundays, and last year's in particular was a team that often crumbled late. The fundamentals were poor and often lacking, on offense and defense. The tackling was bad to start, and only got worse. Things were messy before Robert Saleh was fired after a Week 5 loss to the Vikings in London — but it only got messier after that.
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After that loss in London, linebacker Quincy Williams called out the lack of accountability that was pervasive during the Saleh era, when players were rarely criticized privately — and almost never publicly.
'I'm gonna be honest. People get tired of hearing the same s—,' Williams said. 'People gotta take accountability from the top to the bottom. That's all I gotta say … people gotta start taking accountability, I'm tired of saying the same thing every week.'
So the Jets cleaned house. Glenn removed some of the bigger personalities from the locker room (most notably at quarterback) and replaced them with young, hungry players with something to prove. The Jets did their best to 'move in silence,' a concerted effort by Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey to not chase headlines and instead focus on bringing in the right players that fit what they are trying to do. Part of that equation was extending the contracts of two young stars — Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson — who are made of what Glenn wants.
In Week 1, the Jets roster will only have two non-specialists 30 years or older: Tyrod Taylor (35) and Josh Reynolds (30). Reynolds signed with the Jets largely because of Glenn — who he knew from their time together with the Detroit Lions.
'I knew what kind of coach he was, I knew what kind of culture he was trying to bring here,' Reynolds said. 'He's going to tell you what he means and he's going to tell you what he expects.'
What is that culture?
'It's: We get hit in the mouth, we're going to get back up,' Reynolds said. 'That's what this team needs.'
The remnants of the previous regime, the previous scheme, will be mostly gone. The Jets barely ran the ball last year, mostly because of Rodgers. Expect that to flip completely into a run-heavy scheme captained by a mobile quarterback, Justin Fields, with a three-headed backfield — Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis — in support.
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The defense, run by Glenn and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, is going to be aggressive and blitz heavy. Saleh's defense was predicated on the defensive line winning its battles so the Jets didn't have to use much blitzing. That mostly worked the first few years — it fell apart in 2024 with a depleted defensive line.
'He (Glenn) always talks about being physical, being violent on the D-Line,' said defensive tackle Jay Tufele. 'He always says it starts up front. I haven't played in this kind of defense since high school. It's something I've always wanted to be a part of. To get off and attack and be physical — that's our defense.'
Beyond the physicality — of camp, and in this team's style — Glenn is also attempting to create a culture of accountability. Saleh's philosophy was to let the players lead themselves, and for players to hold each other accountable. Glenn will be leading the charge with this version of the team. He already is.
During minicamp, Glenn said Williams approached him during practice to say that he could tell things were changing around the Jets because, 'there was no b—-ing about anything as far as how we do things,' Glenn said. 'Because we are doing things different.'
'It ain't waiting until we get into the meeting room,' Williams said. 'It's honest, straightforward on the field so you can get corrected right then. It's one of those things where you know the expectations so you can challenge yourself to meet those expectations. It's not something where he's got to come in and say it again — he already said what his standard is. So when you're watching film, everyone is having their own conversations as far as: Did I meet the standard he set today?'
Training camp starts this week. It will look, and sound, different. It might sound more like 1997. Glenn is already sounding like Parcells.
'Everyone thinks alike, from the top to the bottom,' former Jets offensive lineman William Roberts told the New York Times in 1997. 'I think it's one of the biggest reasons we're winning. He gets everyone to come together for one common goal, to win.'
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Players and coaches are singing a similar tune, nearly 30 years later.
'He's setting the tone for the standard of what this building is and what the expectation is, and he's truthful about it,' offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. 'He's not going to sugarcoat it, he's just going to tell you how it is with the truth… It's going to be, 'This is this the expectation, this is the standard, here it is.''