Jets HC Aaron Glenn is old school and new school. While instilling a culture with his staff, he is going to connect and build with players and coaches alike.
"I'm excited about the hire because of the things that he stands for and there is going to be zero tolerance from everything – from being late, to lack of effort, to not being in the training room," NFL Network's Brian Baldinger said of Glenn during a recent appearance on The Official Jets Podcast. "You are going to be held accountable. I don't think you're going to get a lot of fiery speeches out of Aaron Glenn, but the big things are I got to see development from the classroom to the offseason walk-throughs to the practice field to the game."
Glenn, who cites Bill Parcells as the best to ever do it, also has a feel for when to dial up the heat and when to put his arm around a player.
"Everybody is wired a little bit different – you motivate different players differently as you get to know your players," Baldinger said. "The master of all-time was Bill Parcells but everybody wanted to become a Parcells guy. But he just didn't give you love – you had to earn it and so I think Aaron understands a lot of that part of it. But yes, there's going to be that part of it too. There is going to be camaraderie, there is going to be a team building, there is going to be a chance to enjoy it. It's not just going to be a grind and knock you down. There's going to be the other part to it. You can push and you can pull."
Several members of Glenn's staff including the likes of STC Chris Banjo, DB coach/passing game coordinator Chris Harris, OL coach Steve Heiden and WR coach Shawn Jefferson played in the NFL themselves. Glenn, a first-round pick of the Jets who lined up at CB for the Green & White from 1994-2001, was a decorated three-time Pro Bowler who played 15 seasons and recorded 41 INTs.
"Aaron's bringing a lot of former players in, keeping Shawn Jefferson was a good move at receiver," Baldinger said. "Detroit had Hank Fraley, they had former players on their staff, and I'm a big proponent of it. Players have to decide on whether they want to coach, the commitment to it. Aaron obviously made that commitment here as a player and rose up the ranks as a head coach.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see some of these position coaches rise to become not just coordinators but head coaches. You saw what Dan Campbell did with Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. You saw Nick Sirianni do it, Andy Reid do it. If you are a great teacher, it's not just to players. It's to coaches as well – coaching the coaches are a big part of it."
Glenn tabbed Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator. Wilks, 55, is an experienced play-caller who has been known to bring extra rushers. But the Jets do have some pieces up front and Glenn/Wilks should have some options to play coverage in the back end as well.
"Steve's got a lot of experience. He's been a head coach, he's been a coordinator, he's done all those things," Baldinger said. "So, he's been in those shoes and that can help Aaron Glenn a great deal, learn from some of the mistakes Steve may have made. But I think it's a good hire. Look, the aggressiveness is fine. The Eagles didn't blitz once in the Super Bowl, not one time, their front four dominated the game. … You have to play to your players' strengths and they're going to get (Jermaine) Johnson back on the defensive line to go along with the development of Will (McDonald) and Quinnen (Williams), like they might be able to do a lot with just their front four."
While Tanner Engstrand is a first-time offensive coordinator, Glenn paired him with senior offensive assistant/pass game coordinator Scott Turner.
"The son of Norv Turner, so three is a long line of lineage there about how to protect the quarterback, play-action passes," Baldinger said. "The quarterback is going to be under center. It's not going to be a shotgun offense. There are certain things you know right now. Now Detroit had elite personnel, elite offensive line, Pro Bowlers along the offensive line, there was a lot to work with there in Detroit. So, the Jets are not there yet talent wise. That's Darren's (Mougey) job, that's Aaron Glenn's job to start building the wall in front of whatever the quarterback is going to be. The had a pure pocket quarterback in Jared Goff the last three years, they knew where he was going to be every play. There was a lot of creativity to the offense which is fine once you establish what the offense is."
