Aaron Glenn starting to change Jets' culture for players and fans

Aaron Glenn hasn’t coached a game yet for the Jets, but he’s scored a lot of points with his players and already has won over the fan base.

Glenn has shown a mix of no-nonsense toughness, honesty, vulnerability and a sense of nostalgia. He eventually will be judged by wins and losses, but he could not have gotten off to a better start in his own building and many homes across the tri-state area that have been waiting for positive change with the Jets.

Glenn’s reaction to hearing the “J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets” chant at practice Saturday definitely resonated. He said it “hit me pretty hard” and made him feel grateful that the franchise that drafted him brought him back to lead the team to better days.

Earlier in training camp, Glenn said he’s “praying” and “expecting” to take away “the pain” the organization and Jets fans have suffered over the years.

The first nine practices of camp have featured Glenn laying the groundwork for turning around the Jets. He’s pushing them differently from previous coaches and not overlooking anything.

Glenn has had referees at practice to call every penalty to teach the Jets to be more disciplined. Live tackling drills with ballcarriers being brought to the ground is something the players haven’t done since college. It’s also enabling the coaches to go over tackling skills and getting offensive players used to being hit.

There’s a different level of competition in Glenn’s practices that players believe is instilling a winning culture.

“The stakes feel higher,” wideout Garrett Wilson said. “It feels like you won the drill when you won the drill. It feels like you lost when you lost it. And that’s how I like it. It’s practice, yes, but there’s also an opportunity to practice winning and get that feeling and what it takes to just do it on a consistent basis.”

Wilson said Glenn is holding him more accountable. He said the way Glenn chews him out when he drops a pass or doesn’t run a detailed route makes him want to be better.

“That’s what I miss from college,” Wilson said. “Having to do it yourself, making sure that you’re that hyper-focused on it yourself is fine. But when you got someone else to maybe push you on a little bit more and not let you slip up on that stuff, it’s valuable.

“I want to make sure I don’t miss my moment while it’s going on right now, take it all in and try to make sure I’m really honing in on all the details.”

Other players have spoken similarly and in doing so have taken thinly veiled swipes at former Jets coach Robert Saleh and his staff.

“I can see this thing turning around for sure, especially with Glenn and the type of coach he is,” said right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, a Jet since 2021. “He praises physicality, but even more accountability. I think that’s very important for a head coach to do. That’s something I haven’t seen much in my career.”

Truth be told, when Saleh arrived in 2021, his fire and passion made him a player and fan favorite. The Jets didn’t win, though, and became desperate.

They turned the franchise over to Aaron Rodgers, brought in the players and coaches he wanted and watched everything blow up. Practices weren’t as hard, accountability lessened and players became disgruntled.

Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey knew right away they had to move on from Rodgers, take back the franchise and build an environment in which everyone works together and no player is more important than the team. Glenn is the face and voice of the Jets right now, and the players are hanging on his every word.

“He’s a tremendous leader,” safety Tony Adams said. “He does a great job of getting us ready for certain things that’s going to come or certain situations that’s going to come. That’s holding us accountable. That’s ‘I’m going to show you. I’m going to take you to the water, and if you drink it, you drink it. If you don’t, that’s on you.’ I respect it a thousand percent.”

It’s early, but Glenn appears to be changing the culture. That’s a victory in and of itself that could lead to more wins on the field — eventually.

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.