When Mike Tannenbaum started with the Jets as the team's director of player contracts in 1997, Aaron Glenn was entering his fourth NFL season with the Green & White. They've known each other 28 years and Tannenbaum feels like the former star cornerback will excel in his new role as head coach of the Jets.
"I think he'll be very authentic with the players," Tannenbaum said of Glenn while at Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, AL. "And I think he'll be a guy who's game-plan specific and will give the team the best chance to win. I've been very fortunate to have known him for a long time, going back to, gosh I feel old, going back to the late '90s. He deserves the job, he's paid his dues, and I think the players – and I think you saw from the opening press conference – he was very authentic, very direct and I think that will resonate really well with the players."
Glenn, who spent the past four seasons as the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, played 15 seasons in the NFL before returning to the league as a scout with the Jets. Tannenbaum hired him in 2012 and Glenn spent the next two years scouting at the pro and college levels.
"From the ground up, understanding from a team-building standpoint like what to look for at each position," Tannenbaum said of the benefit of Glenn's scouting background. "And when he scouted for the Jets, he was as thorough as any scout. He asked great questions; he was very much into it. It wasn't like a retirement job and obviously, we can see what it led to."
Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman led The 33rd Team in a support role to Chairman Woody Johnson in his search for new football leadership. With the group emphasizing data analysis and trends, they helped identify and vet candidates in addition to coordinating interviews. After Glenn interviewed with Jets brass on Jan. 9, Glenn traveled to 1 Jets Drive last week for a second interview and signed his contract on Jan. 23.
"This is somebody who was a first-round draft choice who obviously had great talent, but you don't play for as long or play as high a level he does without innate competitiveness, discipline," Tannenbaum told team reporter Ethan Greenberg. "If he was going to say I'm going to do X, he'd be great at that. And as Coach [Bill] Parcells said, start from a team-building standpoint scouting and obviously the rest is history, and he's paid his dues."
Glenn will be paired up Darren Mougey, the former Broncos executive who first interviewed on Jan. 11 and interviewed a second time at the Jets' facility late last week. On Saturday evening, the Jets announced Mougey as their new general manager. Starting as an intern with the Broncos in 2012, Mougey moved up the ladder in Denver as a personnel/scouting assistant (2013), college/pro personnel scout (2014), Southwest scout (2015), Western scout (2016), Western regional scout (2017-19) and assistant director of college scouting (2020). Following his 10th season with Denver, Mougey was promoted to assistant general manger and held that post the past two seasons.
"Didn't skip a step, went to San Diego State as a quarterback, ironically lost out to former Jet Kevin O'Connell and changed to receiver," Tannenbaum said. "And then when he transitioned to say, 'hey this is something I want to do' – he's paid his dues as well. And I think when you're in one building as long as he had with different leadership, it says a lot about you, [he] gained more responsibility over time. It wasn't overnight, very hard worker, I thought had great judgement and poise. Obviously Woody and [vice chairman] Christopher Johnson made the decision but from where we stood, from a data collection standpoint and helping the process, I think everyone felt really comfortable about both guys."
Tannenbaum had some advice for the new Glenn-Mougey partnership as the Jets embark on building a winner.
"That's a really intimate relationship, just knowing all the hours you spend together," Tannenbaum said. "I think it's so important to be a great listener. We had a sign up, I'm not sure it's in the building but 'In God We Trust' but for everybody else we need data, meaning we're going to be data-driven decision making. And if we don't agree, let's get more film, let's collect more information."
