Aaron Glenn remembers his role in NY Jets-Miami Dolphins rivalry

Few rivalries in the NFL have been as heated or historic as the showdown between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins. Gang Green and the Fish have hated each other in unique ways since the two teams faced off in 1966 as part of the AFL.

In the matchups since their first, Hall-of-Fame players, Super Bowl winners, and heart-stopping showdowns have been at the center between the two teams.

From a shootout between Ken O’Brien and a Hall-of-Famer, to a couple of historically significant games in NFL history, the Dolphins and Jets know crazy things can happen when they face off.

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is excited to be part of the rivalry again.

Glenn’s mixed history with Jets vs. Dolphins

As a former Pro Bowl cornerback turned head coach of the Jets, Aaron Glenn has seen both the highs and lows that come from the rivalry with Miami.

He was part of two of the most famous games in NFL history, and in the New York-Miami rivalry as well. In 1994, he was the cornerback who was picked on in the famed “Fake Spike Game.” New York blew a 17-0 second half lead to Hall-of-Fame quarterback Dan Marino sealing the contest by firing a touchdown strike to Mark Ingram Sr. to win the game 28-24.

Looking back on the contest on Thursday before leading the team’s practice as coach, Glenn had jokes reminiscing on the tough loss over three decades ago.

“You have to remember this, I’m a corner, so I forget a lot,” Glenn joked as the player who was targeted on the play. “The fake spike, I can just remember talking to Ronnie Lott, and I think we had a couple of D-linemen that were down on a knee, because we thought it was about to happen, and it just so happened that I saw something that just wasn’t right. And I just remember trying to run out there to go cover to try and defend the play.

“Listen, they did a really good job of getting us on that play so they scored.”

For as tough a loss as that was for the Jets – the team did not win another game the rest of the year after the “Fake Spike”—Glenn’s unit got revenge a few years later.

Monday Night Miracle

Six years after the Jets fell to Dan Marino, they found a way to mark their own special comeback.

In 2000, the Jets and Dolphins were fighting for first place in the AFC East. Miami raced out to a 30-7 lead going into the final quarter, but the Jets set a then-NFL record with 30 points scored in the fourth to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The highlight of the comeback was Jumbo Elliott catching a touchdown pass from Vinny Testaverde to tie the score with seconds left.

Glenn, also a member on the Jets roster at that time, looks back at that game well, and believes there’s a teaching method for his current team.

“That was an outstanding game,” Glenn recalled. “Just when everybody thinks that the game was over with, and that’s one thing that we talked to our team about, just belief, that no matter what the situation is, you can always come back and win the game.

“That was one of those situations where everybody thought we were out of the game,
our guys fought to the very end and that’s what you want as a team to be able
to see your guys fight like that and give yourself a chance, and we gave ourselves a chance and ended up pulling that one out.”

There have been many incredible matchups between the Jets and Dolphins. As a player, Glenn has seen that before with his own eyes.

Now as a coach, the rivalry takes on new meaning for Glenn. And he wants to see New York’s 0-3 record turn against one of the fanbase’s most hated rivals going into Monday Night Football.