New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn relying on quarterback Justin Fields as agent of change

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – At his first NFL annual meeting as a head coach, Aaron Glenn on Monday shared his vision to finally fix the New York Jets, who have been in a perpetual rebuild.

In the last 14 seasons, the Jets have had one winning season. They last qualified for the playoffs during the 2010-11 season. And when the 2025-26 season kicks off, Glenn will become the Jets’ fourth non-interim head coach in the past eight seasons.

So much for stability.

Of course, the Jets’ new leader isn’t focused on the franchise’s troubled history. By nature, Glenn, formerly the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator, is forward-looking. The Jets hired him to stop the laughter, and Glenn returned to the organization that drafted him because he’s confident he can.

To that aim, Glenn is relying on new Jets quarterback Justin Fields to be a change agent.

Needing a new direction after their failed two-year experiment with former Green Bay Packers legend Aaron Rodgers, the Jets signed Fields at the outset of free agency in an effort to upgrade at the most important position in sports. Already named the team’s starter, Fields will be given every opportunity to maximize his potential, something that wasn’t always the case in his previous places of employment within the league.

“You go back and watch [game film of Fields] at Ohio State – big arm, understands how to run an offense when given an opportunity,” Glenn said while AFC coaches met with reporters.  Just a really, really good person, [a] really intelligent person who knows football. … We’re gonna let him play quarterback.

“I mean, that’s what he’s always wanted to do. And listen, I’m not saying that he hasn’t had a chance to play that, do that, in other places. That’s not my issue. But I know what I wanna do with that player. Obviously, I wanna utilize his legs. But I also wanna give him a chance to go out there and play quarterback.”

Although Fields, 26, is among the league’s best quarterbacks on the move, Glenn is confident Fields also has great days ahead in the drop-back game. Glenn hired former Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand to be the Jets’ offensive playcaller. Together, Glenn and Engstrand will put Fields through his paces throughout the club’s offseason program while building the offense around the Chicago Bears’ 2021 first-round draft pick.

In a decision that surprised some longtime club observers, the Jets moved quickly to name Fields as the starter instead of having him compete with 14-year veteran Tyrod Taylor, who played in two games for the team last season, for the top spot. For his part, Glenn finds nothing unusual about the Jets’ commitment to Fields.

“No one’s gonna say there’s not competition. This team’s gonna be built on competition,” Glenn said. “Just because you’re one on the depth that, that’s all written in pencil. This league is about competition, and the elite athletes, they thrive on that.

“So just because [Fields] is Quarterback 1 doesn’t mean that Tyrod’s not gonna be on this hill. Everybody has to have, you gotta have, a depth chart. That’s what this league is. But there’s gonna be competition. [Fields] knows that and Tyrod knows that. And that’s across the board. Every position on this team, there’s gonna be competition.”

With the departure of Rodgers, the arrival of Fields and another change of direction under Glenn, the Jets are starting over yet again. With so much unknown, Glenn, wisely, would not be pinned down on the team’s approach on offense and defense.

“When it comes to the type of offense that you’re gonna run, offense and defense is built around the personnel that you have,” Glenn said. “So I don’t want to sit here and say, ‘This is who we’re gonna be.’

“Talent is gonna do a really good job of figuring out everybody we’re gonna have in totality on that offense. We’re gonna build an offense to what they can do. So I don’t want to sit here and say, ‘Man, we’re gonna run the ball. We’re gonna be play-action.’ We’ve gotta see what we’ve got.”

For a long time, the Jets haven’t had enough of what it takes to win. Glenn is determined to change that. Fields will be given a chance to help him.