A culture change occurs when employees are encouraged to adopt behaviors and mindsets that are consistent with the organization’s values.
It usually happens when an organization hires a new front office and coaching staff.
Since being hired in January, coach Aaron Glenn has spearheaded the Jets’ new culture, and the players appear to have quickly bought in.
“The culture here, you can see it coming along for sure,” said Jets left guard John Simpson earlier this week. You’ve got a lot of good guys in this building, and a lot of guys that do have the same mentality, and that’s where it all starts.
“They brought in some guys that have the same mentality and now I had the opportunity to talk to some of those guys. You know, we are all on the same page.
“It is great knowing that we got that collective thought process of getting the job done and doing whatever it takes to win.”
Following three-plus seasons of the Robert Saleh era, it was clear the Jets needed a culture change. During the previous two seasons, Aaron Rodgers was supposed to provide that change, which was designed to help the Jets come out of their dark abyss since 2010 and contend for a Super Bowl. However, following a season-ending Achilles injury in 2023 and a 5-12 record in 2024, the Jets not only released Rodgers in March but also fired Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas in the middle of last season.
Culture changes are never easy, especially for a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010 and hasn’t registered a winning record since 2015. However, one of Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey’s many goals is to transform the Jets from a perennial struggling franchise to a championship contender.
“I’m a firm believer that, like in six weeks, which is our first two phases, you don’t totally develop a culture,” said Glenn. “I mean that’s always ongoing. To me, the real sign of where your culture is really starting to get to where you are, is when adversity hits, and we haven’t hit any adversity.
“The only thing I do know is we have a lot of guys here, all of our guys here, and that tells me one thing, the guys are buying in, they believe, because they don’t have to be here because it’s not mandatory. When I look at culture right now, at this point, I look at how many guys are showing up and how are they working. Right now, it tells me these guys want to work, so that’s what I’m looking at, and I think that’s a really good thing right now for our guys.”
To accomplish that, the Jets parted ways with several veterans and brought in players who fit their goals and direction. Mission accomplished thus far after the Jets had 100% attendance during OTAs on Tuesday and Glenn stated that the team was the same on Wednesday.
In addition to Rodgers, the Jets released Davante Adams and long-term defensive captain C.J. Mosley. Gang Green didn’t sign many big names in free agency outside of Justin Fields, but it has brought in players who have brought into Glenn’s message.
Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract in March and has impressed his teammates and coaches. Glenn didn’t mention Rodgers by name, but he described Fields as “authentic” and someone who isn’t “trying to be the celebrity quarterback.”
“The culture here starts in the building,” said Jets safety Andre Cisco, who signed in March. “Just creating a good culture in meetings and really understanding our teammates and what kind of guys we got around us.
“Players serving coaches, coaches serving players in terms of making it a whole puzzle and everybody being part of that. In terms of what attracted me to AG [Glenn] was just, you know, his history of with the back end and obviously his his vision for that has been fruitful in the last few years.”
Changing the culture also begins with veteran players already in the building, such as wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Entering his third season in the league, Wilson is eligible for a contract extension this offseason.
Some players as accomplished as Wilson would sit out voluntary workouts because they have been waiting for a large payday. But he has been working at the Jets’ facility, hoping to rewrite the wrongs from his first three seasons in the league.
With the addition of Glenn and Fields, his college teammate at Ohio State, Wilson is reinvigorated and hopes to be a “Jet for life.”
“I think we are in the early stages,” said Wilson. We will see this thing here in a couple of months after camp finishes, and we will know what that looks like.
“Right now, it is all talking about what we all want it to look like. I will say the mindset is right. he guys that we brought in and the staff, everyone is aligned, and I think they did that intentionally. It is our job to go out there as players to bring that culture to light and find what our culture is and our identity is on the field.”
There is a honeymoon period with any new regime change. Ultimately, this business is about wins and losses. That’s how the Glenn and Mougey era will be defined and the players understand that.
“I just know right now, in the moment, it’s going in the right direction to win games by the standard that coach has set for us, by the standard that he gave us and the path that he’s putting those on to be successful,” said Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. “It’s a long way to first game right now, but I feel like on the path that we going right now is going to be successful if we just listen to him and follow his path and coaching staff also.”
“I feel like all those guys are on the same page.”
