As the process went on, it became clear Aaron Glenn would be the new head coach of the New York Jets if he left the Detroit Lions this offseason. The reported affinity he had for the job was impossible to ignore, and on Wednesday this past week it was official.
Of course there will be challenges with the Jets' job. No. 1 among them is finding a long-term solution at quarterback. Which brings us to the biggest thing on Glenn's immediate agenda as the new head coach.
The two seasons Aaron Rodgers has spent as a Jet did not go according to anyone's plan. He openly acknowledged his fate with the team going forward would be determined in conversations with the incoming head coach and general manager, and the Jets now have both spots filled with Darren Mougey being hired as the new general manager.
So those conversations are coming, and if we learned anything about Glenn during his time as the Lions' defensive coordinator he probably thinks time is already being wasted.
Aaron Glenn will address the Aaron Rodgers-sized elephant in the Jets' room right away
There has been some stuff out there already suggesting it, and on Sunday morning Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Glenn is open to keeping Rodgers and Rodgers is also open to returning to the Jets as those conversations naturally moved toward ramping up.
Glenn may be open to keeping Rodgers, and Rodgers for his part can be open to staying all he wants to be. But will Mougey share that sentiment? And being "open" to something is obviously not definitive either way.
During FOX's pregame show before the NFC Championship Game on Sunday afternoon, Jay Glazer passed along news from his morning conversation with Glenn.
"I plan to go meet with Aaron Rodgers & will definitely come up with a decision much sooner than later. I don’t wanna drag this out", Glenn said, according to Glazer.
.@JayGlazer spoke with #Jets HC Aaron Glenn this morning about the future of Aaron Rodgers:
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) January 26, 2025
Glenn told Jay Glazer: ‘I plan to go meet with Aaron Rodgers & will definitely come up with a decision much sooner than later. I don’t wanna drag this out.’
🎥 @NFLonFOX #JetUp pic.twitter.com/m30KJPUuqI
Going to meet with Rodgers presumably means Glenn (and Mougley) will travel to see the mercurial quarterback at his offseason home in California. And they'll do it soon, to get a feel for where Rodgers is at and how they feel about having him as their quarterback.
As Connor Hughes of SNY noted, however obviously, "when you're discussing Aaron Rodgers, you're not just talking about the quarterback. You're talking about everything that comes with being Aaron Rodgers." The Jets have been a generally dysfunctional operation for a long time, but his presence put a unique spotlight on it.
So Glenn unsurprisingly intends to deal with the Rodgers-sized elephant in the Jets' room very quickly, just like his coaching mentors/previous bosses (Bill Parcells, Sean Payton, Dan Campbell) would. And quickly is the only way to deal with it, no matter what direction things go from there as Glenn takes on the biggest thing he'll deal with his first year as a head coach.