After trading for future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 2023, the New York Jets were widely expected to be Super Bowl contenders for the next two to three seasons. Thanks to a season-ending injury after four snaps into the 2023 season and organizational dysfunction in 2024, however, the Jets fell right back to square-one. But any doom-and-gloom prognostications for the Jets ended quickly after a series of (uncharacteristically) smart moves.
First, the Jets hired the highly respected Aaron Glenn to be their next head coach and paired him up with an exciting young general manager in Darren Mougey, formerly the Assistant GM in Denver. Then, they signed Justin Fields in free agency to be their starting quarterback.
This pairing of head coach and quarterback has received widespread acclaim in the NFL world and was recently praised in a new ESPN article. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed what he’d learned from talking to people around the league, and that included an exciting analysis of the Jets: Several head coaching hires were lauded in league circles… but the selection of Glenn in New York resonates, too. And Fields is considered by some as an ideal match for Glenn’s efforts to instill toughness in Florham Park. “A defensive head coach is going to run the ball with Breece Hall and a dangerous weapon to complement the offense in Fields,” an NFL coordinator said. “AG will help the defense be even better, too.”
Jets fans would be excused if they wait to see success on the field before getting too excited, but this anonymous coordinator got it right. Glenn is going to elevate this defense that has the potential to be a Top 3 unit, especially with a bounce-back from the defensive line and Ahamd “Sauce” Gardner still roaming in the secondary.
But it’s the head coach-quarterback pairing that is especially intriguing. No, Justin Fields has not yet proven that he can be the type of franchise savior that Jets fans have been waiting decades for. But he’s still young at just 26-years-old and has enormous upside. Plus, he’s a threat to score from anywhere on the field with his rushing ability, which will open up the run game for Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.
As aforementioned, this Jets team still needs to prove themselves on the field, but on paper they appear primed for a massive leap forward in 2025, potentially into a deep playoff run. These Jets are not your father’s Jets, and it’s time to start taking them seriously.
