Hall of Fame HC shoots down narrative about Jets' hiring of Aaron Glenn

Long before Aaron Glenn became a hot head-coaching candidate due to his work as the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, he played cornerback under Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells with the New York Jets from 1997 to 1999.

Pockets of Jets fans and some analysts said they felt the club needed to hire a head coach with experience for the team's opening, partly to fix the supposed culture problems that have plagued the organization for years. Parcells disagrees with such individuals. 

"I have a very strong take on that," Parcells told Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. "This guy has worked his a-- off preparing to be a coach. There are not many players that, when their career’s over, are going to start at a lower-level scouting job to try to learn about being in pro football and personnel acquisition. And he did all that. He put the hard work in, and he served his apprenticeship."

As Eric Allen of the Jets' website noted, Glenn played 15 seasons in the NFL before he worked as an assistant secondary coach with the Cleveland Browns from 2014 to 2015. He was then the defensive backs coach with the New Orleans Saints from 2016 to 2020 before he earned the Lions gig, which put him on the map regarding head-coaching opportunities. 

Most recently, the 2024 Lions endured a remarkable injury crisis but finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed for the NFC portion of the playoffs at 15-2, thanks mainly to Glenn's defensive schemes. Ultimately, those injuries eventually became too much for Detroit to overcome, as the club suffered an upset 45-31 divisional-round loss to the Washington Commanders this past weekend. 

Per Ryan Chichester of Audacy, New York Giants legend Tiki Barber mentioned during Wednesday's edition of the WFAN afternoon show that he likes that Glenn "knows the Jets fanbase," is "not going to be overwhelmed by" being a head coach in the New York market and "feels like a leader of men." While speaking with Cannizzaro, Parcells delivered somewhat of a warning to those on the Jets roster during springtime workouts. 

"He doesn’t [mess] around," Parcells added about Glenn. "He’s a serious guy. He’s serious about this. He loves football. That always impressed me. He’s gonna do a good job. You watch." 

Jets fans hope Glenn can end the longest active playoff drought in the four major North American sports leagues, now 14 consecutive seasons, as soon as next year.