Future Hall of Fame QB discusses what Aaron Glenn will bring as Jets HC

New Orleans Saints legend and future Hall of Famer Drew Brees got to know recently-hired New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn when he played for the Saints in 2008 and later served as that club's defensive backs coach from 2016-20.

Brees recently spoke with Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post about what Glenn will offer a Jets team that desperately needs a culture shift.

"What I always knew about A.G. was there was an intensity and competitiveness," Brees explained. "But he was a leader of men who garnered so much respect from his teammates for the way he prepared and the way he played. You felt like, 'If this guy gets into coaching, he’s on the fast track.'" 

Glenn most recently got on that "fast track" during his stint as Detroit Lions defensive coordinator from 2021 through this season. He helped that franchise earn its first playoff victory since January 1992, reach last January's NFC Championship Game, and then claim the No. 1 seed for the ongoing postseason tournament before a noteworthy injury crisis crushed Detroit's Super Bowl hopes. 

Meanwhile, the Jets are responsible for the longest active playoff drought in the four major North American sports leagues, at 14 consecutive seasons and counting. 

Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells noted earlier in the week that Glenn "doesn’t [mess] around" and is "serious about" football. Brees expanded on why such traits could make Glenn precisely what the Jets need this offseason. 

"He knows what it’s like to create that type of environment," Brees added about Glenn. "...You’re telling me you’re going to be honest with me, you’re going to push me, you’re going to get the best out of me and we’re going to accomplish great things together? Sign me up for that. That’s what A.G. represents. The guys he’s had a chance to be around, that was their M.O. as well. He will do that in his own way." 

The Athletic's Chad Graff and Zack Rosenblatt reported this week that the Jets "wanted to hire" Mike Vrabel. However, they soon learned that the New England Patriots Hall of Famer always intended to return to the organization this offseason. Jets owner Woody Johnson will now hope that Vrabel's essentially forcing Gang Green to "settle" on Glenn will be a blessing in disguise for a franchise that could use some good fortune and the right leadership.