Aaron Glenn raring to go as Jets head coach: ‘Put your seat belts on and get ready for the ride’

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Glenn stood in a room that featured a number of his former Jets teammates, talked about what it takes to go from a losing team to a Super Bowl contender and delivered a strong message to current and future Jets.

“Put your seat belts on and get ready for the ride,” Glenn said Monday afternoon.

Glenn is the Jets’ new head coach. He and new Jets general manager Darren Mougey were formally introduced at a news conference that was filled with energy and optimism.

“This is a very happy day for the New York Jets,” owner Woody Johnson said.

The Jets conducted a thorough search, interviewing 16 coaching candidates and 15 people for the general manager position that became available when Johnson fired Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas during the season.

Johnson believes Glenn and Mougey have the right makeup, knowledge and chemistry to run his football team and turn around a franchise that hasn’t reached the playoffs for 14 consecutive years.

The Jets appeared to have the roster to finally make the postseason this year, but they fell flat and finished 5-12. Glenn welcomes the challenge of putting an end to that dismal drought.

“Here’s what I do know,” Glenn said, “we’re the freaking New York Jets, so we’re built for this [expletive].”

Glenn was a first-round pick of the Jets in 1994, was on the team that went 1-15 in 1996 and made the playoffs two years later. The former cornerback played eight years for the Jets.

Glenn returned to the organization in 2012 as a scout. It was his first football job after his playing career ended. Now, his first job as a head coach is with the Jets.

Glenn thanked many people who helped him get to this place in his professional life. One of them was his former coach with the Jets, Bill Parcells. It was Parcells who suggested to Glenn to become a scout before becoming a coach because it would help him as an evaluator.

Glenn continued to climb the ranks, working with Sean Payton in New Orleans as a defensive backs coach. He learned “sustained winning” from his time as a player and coach for Payton.

The past four seasons, Glenn was Detroit’s defensive coordinator under Dan Campbell. The Lions went 3-13 that first year. This season, they were 15-2 and the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Changing a culture, Glenn said, comes when you hire the right people. He learned that from his time with Parcells and has been living it throughout his coaching career.

“I can stand in front of a group of men and give as many rah-rah speeches as I can, but culture is about people and getting the right people in the building,” Glenn said. “I saw that with Bill Parcells when he got here. So I know it’s not a fluke. We did the same thing in Detroit. We expect to do that as soon as we can.”

Glenn and Mougey said the Jets have some good pieces already on the roster. No decision has been made yet about Aaron Rodger’s future.

Mougey, 39, had been with the Broncos his whole NFL life. He started as a scouting intern in 2012 and rose up to being the assistant general manager in Denver the past three seasons. The Broncos ended an eight-year playoff hiatus this season with a roster Mougey helped build.

He said he and Glenn “were in lockstep right out of the gate” when they talked over the weekend about their vision for the Jets.

“There will be accountability across each department and a high standard as we look to win not only now, but from now on,” Mougey said.

A big talking point for Glenn was “sustained success.” That’s the long-term goal, but the organization and fan base would like to see any kind of success — period. The Jets haven’t finished a season above .500 since they went 10-6 in 2015. 

“Sustained success, that’s what we’re looking for because I’ve lived it,” Glenn said. “It’s going to take hard work, it’s going to take dedication, it’s going to take us as coaches to make sure we teach and continue to teach.

“The small things about this game is what really wins games. The smartest teams win games. Situational awareness wins games. It’s our job as coaches to make sure we do that because that’s the difference between winning and losing.”

Glenn said he hasn’t hired anyone for his staff yet. He won’t be the defensive play-caller, though. He wants to be able to fully manage the team and lead them to sustained winning.

“I look forward to this,” Glenn said. “I look forward to it. It’s going to be a great ride. It really is. There’s nothing better than having your start here as a player, here as a scout, and now here as a head coach. And I’m ready for it.”