Aaron Glenn has been reluctant to use the word rebuild to describe the Jets’ current situation.
But at 2-9, that’s precisely the circumstances the Jets are currently in.
Sunday’s loss to the Ravens will assure the Jets of having their 10th straight year with a losing record. They also haven’t made the playoffs since 2010, which is the longest drought in North American sports. But Glenn remains steadfast in building a sustainable culture of winning.
“I’m going to say this again, everybody wants to win now, but you can’t lose sight of what you’re trying to build,” Glenn said. “Listen, you can easily just go get a bunch of players from outside and bring them in and, man, you might win just off talent alone, and you’re not going to win a lot of games by doing that, but you’ll win some games by doing that, but it’s the foundation of what you’re doing that really sets of who you are and what you’re trying to build.
“To me, I try to make sure with our players, and even with our staff, that we keep our focus on that, even though we’re trying to win these games. We’re trying to build things the right way to make sure that we sustain the winning that we’re going to do once this thing gets to where it’s going to get to. It’s tough, it is, it is, but we also have a forward-thinking mentality as far as, man, here’s where we’re trying to go, and we have a vision of where we’re trying to go, and we try not to lose sight of that.”
One of the first changes that happens after hiring a coach is that they want to change the culture. Glenn experienced that firsthand with the Lions after he helped coach Dan Campbell turn Detroit from perennial losers into an NFC contender.
When Campbell took over in 2021, the Lions were in a similar situation to the Jets’ current one. Detroit had missed the playoffs for four consecutive seasons and hadn’t won a postseason game since 1991. Now Glenn is trying to do the same with the Jets.
With six games left in the 2025 season, the Jets are finishing out the year while also keeping an eye on the franchise’s future. That became evident once they traded both Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams earlier this month for an abundance of draft picks.
The first three round picks the Jets got in the trades can be used to find a franchise quarterback. But even more than that, the Jets need to see who’s going to stick around past this season to be part of the program moving forward.
Gang Green will have a projected $99 million of salary cap space next offseason. With 23 players scheduled to hit free agency in March, the Jets will likely make wholesale changes to their roster.
Although it may not appear to be the case, considering their record, Jets defensive tackle Harrison Phillips is optimistic that Glenn will right the ship and get the Jets back on course in due time.
“In a short amount of time, it has to be clear what our foundation is, who our foundation is, and what is the thumbprint of this organization, the identity of this team going to be for this season and moving forward,” Jets defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said. “It takes time, but there’s always a sense of urgency with it.
“I’m really optimistic. I’ve talked about how positive I am about our head football coach, how positive I am about our general manager [Darren Mougey], about the changes that have happened in this organization,” Jets defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said. “I spoke to the team earlier this year, and my message was that you have to have the mentality to play the long game. I said to them, you might beat me yesterday, you might beat me today, hell, you might beat me tomorrow, but you will not beat me in the end. And you have to have the power to be unstoppable.
“You have to have the mental toughness to play the long game, but you also have to have the maturity to recognize it is not as far as you think.”
