Jets 2026 season preview: Why Aaron Glenn must take step forward to save job

Nov 13, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn watches from the sideline as they take on the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

The New York Jets’ playoff drought continues to climb up all the wrong lists.

Entering the 2026 season, Gang Green has gone 15 years without making the playoffs. Only 10 teams in NFL history have had longer droughts, and there is zero indication that this slump will be busted this year.

The Jets won just three games in Aaron Glenn’s first season as head coach, proving that all the right talk is, at the end of the day, only talk. The former cornerback who played a part in the organization’s renaissance in the late 1990s knows how to handle a press conference, but it remains to be seen if he can properly lead a team from the sidelines.

He and second-year general manager Darren Mougey did not sit on their hands this offseason. They fired half of Glenn’s coaching staff, and among the newcomers is one of his former teammates, offensive coordinator Frank Reich.

Reich’s offense will rely on Geno Smith — now a decade older — in what is his second stint as the Jets’ starting quarterback, in hopes of sparking a return to form, when he was one of the best passers in the league three years ago with the Seattle Seahawks.

There are foundational pieces to work with in running back Breece Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson. The rest is intriguing, but murky.

On defense, it appears that Glenn realized the error of his ways from last season. Once the brainchild behind the resurgence of the Detroit Lions’ defense as their coordinator, Glenn surprisingly handed the Jets’ keys entirely to Steve Wilks. What followed was a historically bad season, where New York allowed the second-most points in the NFL and became the first team ever not to record a single interception.

Now, with new defensive coordinator Brian Duker, Glenn is expected to be more hands-on.

While expectations for 2026 remain remarkably low — the Jets might be in a fight for the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft with the division-rival Miami Dolphins — there is pressure for Glenn to will his team just one step forward.

Despite all the talk that this was the man to change the culture at MetLife Stadium, Glenn’s job status begins with significant question marks. Team owner Woody Johnson is reportedly already doing his homework about a potential pursuit of former long-time Pittsburgh Steelers head coach and Super Bowl winner, Mike Tomlin, who was dismissed after 19 seasons with the AFC North squad.

Like it or not, the clock is already ticking for Glenn, and five or six wins this season could do him a world of good.