Former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is now the head coach of the New York Jets, and he’s already sending quite the message after the Jets’ first game.
New York lost 34-32 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 despite racking up nearly 400 yards of offense and leading time of possession by over nine minutes. The game’s biggest turning point was arguably when, with New York leading by two in the fourth quarter, returner Xavier Gipson fumbled the ball away on a kick return. Pittsburgh scored a touchdown two plays later and went on to win.
The play cost New York the game and appears to have cost Gipson his job, as he was released by the Jets on Wednesday.
Glenn isn't messing around after latest Jets move
Gipson had been a productive return man for the Jets in the past. He helped deliver the franchise one of its most emotional regular season wins in recent memory when he returned a punt for the game-winning touchdown in overtime of the Jets' 2023 season opener on Monday Night Football in the game where then-quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon just four snaps into his Jets tenure.
When asked about the move, Glenn denied that it was solely because of the fumble.
"I want it to be known that decisions that's made are not rash decisions and never based off of one incident, and I will keep it at that," Glenn said Wednesday. "Xavier's a really good player, and he's going to play in this league, but I felt it was time for us to move on in another direction. So I'll leave it at that."
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But, the timing is impossible to ignore after the way Week 1’s game ended. Especially when you look at what Glenn said immediately after the game.
"The one thing to me that turned this game is man, we can't have turnovers, we can't do it," Glenn said "We have to be a more disciplined team. There were some penalties that happened in that game that were true discipline issues, and that's something that will be addressed because you will not be on the field with this team if you're gonna cause us to lose games, if you're gonna cause issues like that so we will get that addressed."
Cutting a player days after saying “you will not be on the field with this team if you're gonna cause us to lose games” is quite the message after said player had a crucial fumble.
This move likely had much more to do with the single mistake than Glenn is willing to admit, and that says a lot about how he’s running the team.
Glenn came from a culture in Detroit that prioritized discipline and ball control. He was lauded in Detroit for his leadership and care for his players, but also for his no-nonsense attitude and unwillingness to accept sloppy football. That philosophy seems to be showing up in a big way following just one game as a head coach.