Aaron Glenn has wanted to change the Jets culture from the moment he was hired as head coach in January.
One week into the regular season, Glenn has already changed the organization for the better.
On Wednesday, Glenn made it clear there would be consequences for not getting the job done as he released wide receiver and kick returner Xavier Gipson after three seasons with the team.
Gipson’s fumble of a return at the Jets’ 22-yard line early in the fourth quarter proved to be the critical mistake that cost Gang Green a feel-good opening day win. Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers quickly capitalized on the blunder and scored a touchdown to take a 31-26 lead.
Pittsburgh eventually won the game 34-32 after Chris Boswell converted a 60-yard field goal with 1:08 remaining.
Jets teams in the past might have let Gipson’s mistake slide. But Glenn sent a stern message about accountability, a standard some players felt was missing in previous seasons.
“We can’t have turnovers,” Glenn said following Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh. “We can’t do it. We have to be a more disciplined team.
“There were some penalties that happened in that game that were true discipline issues and, again, that’s something that will be addressed because you will not be on the field with this team if you’re going to cause us to lose games, if you’re going to cause issues like that.”
Glenn, to paraphrase the hip-hop group Migos, is “walking it” how he talks it. He told players and reporters throughout training camp that penalties and boneheaded miscues will not be tolerated. The Jets have led the league in penalties each of the previous two seasons.
In previous seasons, Jets players got away with bad decisions, dropped passes or extracurricular activities that cost the team. And during the Robert Saleh/Jeff Ulbrich era last year, it is hard to remember a time when players were held accountable for their mistakes.
But Glenn sent a message to the entire locker room that consistent mistakes will not be tolerated.
“He’s definitely letting guys know that the team is counting on you,” Jets left guard John Simpson told the Daily News about Glenn. “Guys that obviously don’t do things the right way, he is going to let you know.
“He will call you out in the meeting room. It is definitely a different mindset and you gotta be on your s–t when it comes to it because he’s on it. If you do the right thing, then you don’t have much to worry about. If he calls you out in the meetings, it is for a reason. He doesn’t necessarily call you out in a negative light, but he will definitely say something if it needs to be said.
“A lot of places where I’ve been, it is not like that.”
The phrase culture change has been thrown around a lot since Glenn was hired, mainly because he has been at the forefront of wanting to change the Jets for the better.
During the first week of the offseason program, Glenn talked about wins and losses, postseason appearances and Lombardi Trophies. He discussed building the Jets from the ground up and establishing a foundation that would enable the team to be successful not just for one season, but for several years to come.
It was unfortunate that Gipson had to be the one who paid the price, but that one decision will get everyone’s attention inside Florham Park. Sure, Gipson was the low man on the Jets’ totem pole after he was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023. But if they really wanted to get rid of Gipson, they had an opportunity to do so during final cuts in late August. But Glenn said Gipson went “145 strong without dropping a punt” during training camp.
“I know the ball is the most important thing in this organization, and we talk about it all the time to where if you have the ball in your hands, you have the most precious thing in the organization,” Justin Fields said. “So, that’s definitely the most important thing when we are playing the game.
“But Xay [Gipson] was my guy. I feel bad for him, but everything happens for a reason and I’m sure he’ll get another shot somewhere else.”
Since January, Glenn has been like an exterminator trying to clean up the Jets building with the hope of turning them around from perennial losers to winners. He knows what it takes to accomplish that feat after he and Dan Campbell did the same thing with the Lions.
Detroit was in a similar position as the Jets currently are, but Glenn and Campbell helped the Lions go from a 3-13-1 record in 2021 to 15-2 last season. Glenn’s experience as Lions defensive coordinator provides a blueprint for how the Jets can finally head in the right direction after 14 years of futility.
One of the reasons Glenn cut Rodgers wasn’t because of his football ability at 41 years old. It was because he felt like he couldn’t truly deliver his message with Rodgers still in the building. Rodgers even admitted that during his rant about Glenn and the Jets during an April appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
No one knows how this season will go for the Jets. They had a valiant effort in their loss to the Steelers, in which Fields played some of the best football of his career.
They might have squandered a nine-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but this is not your father’s Jets team. This is the Aaron Glenn era of the Jets, where consistent mistakes and miscues will not be tolerated.
Glenn stood on business and everyone inside and outside the Jets building has to respect that.
