The New York Jets are in one of those strange positions where doing absolutely nothing feels just as risky as making a major move.
Woody Johnson didn’t fire Aaron Glenn after an ugly finish to the season, and entire year, and that alone has sparked a question that isn’t going away anytime soon, with many asking if the Jets even want Glenn back?
The Jets didn’t just lose games all season, as they were embarrassed. Again, New York was historically bad and that’s saying something. The team typically looked non-competitive, disorganized, and out-coached.
However, that doesn’t mean everyone was happy.
According to ESPN’s Jets reporter, Rich Cimini, Johnson’s decision not to fire Glenn shouldn’t be mistaken for him liking what he did.
“Woody Johnson is committed to Aaron Glenn. Now, call him crazy, but that’s the situation. I can tell you this, Johnson was not happy by the finish to the season, despite the circumstances. He had a rookie quarterback, some injuries, evaluations, some quote-unquote tanking. He was not happy to see his team get blown out five times in a row in historic fashion,” Cimini said.
“As you know, first team in NFL history to lose five straight by 23 or more points. That’s incredible. Not even (Rich) Kotite did that, not even (Adam) Gase. And so, Woody, from what I understand, didn’t even go to the last three games, which is unlike him. So, just because he didn’t fire Glenn does not mean he’s not unhappy. Does not mean he’s happy, rather. He was pissed.”
Johnson sticking with Glenn isn’t a vote of confidence but it might be to see how things go. A wait-and-see approach could work out, but it probably won’t.
So the real question isn’t whether Johnson is unhappy, as he clearly is. The question is whether keeping Glenn right now just for the sake of some continuity is the right move.
At some point, the Jets have to stop convincing themselves that patience alone will fix everything. However, there’s also a side of the story that says the Jets need to be patient for once and let things unfold how they will.