Aaron Glenn has made it clear that he's the head coach for the entire Jets operation, not just one favorite side of the ball. He underscored that again in his remarks Tuesday at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Palm Beach, FL.
"First, I'm a coach. I just happen to coach defense," Glenn said at the AFC Coaches' Breakfast. "I've spent a lot of time in the offseason understanding offense. That's been probably the last seven, eight years of my career, trying to expand that knowledge of what I want to do on offense."
Yet it's only natural. Glenn was a cornerback his entire playing career, then got on the defensive coaching track that led him to four increasingly effective seasons as the Lions' D-coordinator. AG has some very specific thoughts on the defense he wants to assemble and have Steve Wilks coordinate on the Jets this season.
For openers, he's not publicly revealing too much about the scheme the Green & White will be playing.
"Offense and defense are built around the personnel that you have, so I don't want to sit here and say this is who we're going to be," he said.
"Once we get everybody on this defense that we know we want to get, then we'll build a scheme off of that. I've been a part of the wide-9, I've been a part of the react attack where we've got to stay square to the line of scrimmage. Once we get all the people we want to get in this building, listen, Steve's going to do a hell of a job. He's been a part of building a number of different defenses that you can see through his career. We look forward to that."
Many of those players that will be on that unit are already scheduled to begin the offseason conditioning program at One Jets Drive soon. A key development in the middle of the puzzle was the re-signing of MLB Jamien Sherwood.
"Jamien's a really, really good communicator," Glenn said. "He can run, he has coverage ability. And the way he talks and reacts to all the players around him and the way they react to him lets you know he is a true quarterback of the defense. ... Keeping him was critical for us to continue to build this defense."
Glenn didn't give a full rundown of the entire defensive roster, but Jets fans know that all three levels have great bodies to build around. The Jets through free agency and the upcoming draft are intent on lining up talent and competition next to three-time Pro Bowl player Quinnen Williams on the inside.
On the edge, Glenn was asked about a timetable for 2023 Pro Bowler Jermaine Johnson's rehab from his September Achilles injury so he can team back up with Will McDonald IV to create pass-rush havoc.
"I'm not a doctor, but he's been doing a really good job," Glenn said. "I've been knowing him since he came out of college — we actually coached him in the Senior Bowl. I know exactly what he brings to the table, and he's working his butt off to get back to where he needs to be."
The Jets have Quincy Williams alongside Sherwood at LB, and Glenn stressed the height factor at corner, where two-time Pro Bowl CB Sauce Gardner at 6-3 will now be playing opposite 6-1 Brandon Stephens, as well as the experience at safety with the addition of UFA Andre Cisco.
As for a few other elements of style in the AG defense, he said, "One thing we know we're going to attack, we'll be better against the run. You look back at what I've done over the last couple of years in run defense, we've been pretty good in that aspect, so we're going to try to continue to create that.
"And the thing I know for a fact is that we have some guys that get after the quarterback, so we're going to utilize those guys, too."
But first things first. The Jets are still in the process of acquiring all players for the D that Glenn talked about. More will arrive in the forms of draft choices and undrafted free agents. More veterans can be added. Simultaneously, "phase one" of the offseason will kick off, for the entire team but for that defense in particular.
"We have to understand what phase one is really about," Glenn said. "We're trying to get bigger, stronger faster and more explosive, and that's the only thing I want the players worrying about at this point. We have a lot of time for scheme, a lot of time to talk about Super Bowl and playoffs. But right now, building a culture and building an environment in that building is the most important thing for me."
