Aaron Glenn, the player coach: He knows what it takes to win in NFL

One of the first times Garrett Wilson met up with his new head coach was during this offseason down in Texas, where both of them are from. They were in Austin, in fact, near Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium where the University of Texas plays and where Wilson was doing some workouts.

Casually, without any prompting, Aaron Glenn went back to Thanksgiving Day of 1992.

“He was like, ‘The last time I was down here I had a pick-6,’ ” Wilson recalled.

It was one of the biggest plays of the year for his Texas A&M team that helped them beat the previously unbeaten Longhorns. Glenn, then a junior defensive back, indeed intercepted a pass deep in his own territory and then returned it 95 yards, high-stepping into the end zone as he scored.

But Glenn didn’t say any of that to Wilson. He just dropped that he hadn’t been to Austin since then.

“That’s one of those subtle flexes, right?” Wilson said, laughing. “No, he ain't got to say too much. I already knew what time he was on. For a cornerback, you know, like that, he ain't got to say too much.

“He's stamped.”

The Jets hired Glenn as their head coach in January for a number of reasons. His acumen as a defensive coordinator for the Lions in recent years propelled him to the top of most teams’ interview lists. His fire and leadership skills ooze with everything he does. And his record when it comes to turning around cultures from longtime losing to sustained winning as he helped do in Detroit is exactly what the Jets hope he can accomplish here.

But when you ask the players what they think of Glenn, what they like and respect the most about him, they don’t mention his schemes or his messaging. What they invariably say is that he has their attention because he is a former player . . . and more importantly a former Jets player.

A first-round pick by the Jets in 1994, he played eight seasons in New York and was a Pro Bowler for the team in 1997 and 1998. He was part of some of the best seasons the Jets have enjoyed since Super Bowl III, including when they went 12-4 and reached the AFC Championship Game in 1998, along with some of the worst, like two years earlier in 1996 when they finished 1-15.

“I know what it’s like to be a Jet,” Glenn said during training camp. “Listen, I know the pain, I know all the things that the fans have been through . . .  I might have been gone from here, but I’ve never been gone in spirit, so I get it . . . From the time I was drafted and practiced on Long Island to the time I came back as a scout in New Jersey [as his first post-playing career job in the NFL in 2012]] this organization has always felt like home."

It's easy to see why in the players’ minds Glenn isn’t just the head coach and an authority figure. He is one of them.

That goes a very long way.

“When you have one of your peers talking to you it means more than just a coach coaching you,” linebacker Quincy Williams said. “He’s seen the game. He talks from a perspective of being on the field, in the action, in the situation. It’s not from up top. It sounds crazy but it’s a difference in the voice. He’s talking like he’s seeing it with you as you move on the field, then as soon as you get to the sideline he’s giving you pointers that you know yourself. It’s like a peer talking to you.”

Cornerback Michael Carter II said Glenn doesn’t flaunt his resume as a player — “I can’t think of a time off the top of my head where he has even mentioned it,” he said — but everyone can feel that he is coming from a place familiar to them.

“He understands the grind, the grit, the day to day that is hard, mentally hard,” Carter said. “He allows us to trust him and build that trust . . . We just understand that he understands us. He’s been in our positions, sat in our seats, all those things.”

It’s not just the defensive players who feel that, either.

“AG is great,” quarterback Justin Fields said. “He’s awesome, super person when it comes to not only speaking to me, not only our relationship, but, you know, everyone’s relationship. He’s straightforward with it. He keeps it very blunt.”

Wilson said even as a receiver he listens intently to what Glenn has to say.

“At the end of the day, he was a DB, so if he watches me and says, ‘Hey, you rose up,’ or ‘That route wasn't quite right,’ he's got the same mindset as the dudes I'll be going against,” Wilson said. “It's valuable info and he's got a lot of it, a lot of valuable nuggets that all of the guys are just trying to take in right now and see how he likes things done.”

Back to basics

“I didn't realize we were going to have so much in common,” Wilson added, referring to their Texas backgrounds and both being undersized for their positions. “Then there is just the expectation for when we're out on the field, how it's supposed to look, how it'll get in my mind if I put a ball on the ground or don't run with details. That's what his thing is. That's what I miss from college, you know? Having to do it yourself, making sure that you're that hyper-focused on it yourself, is fine. But when you’ve got someone else to maybe push you on that a little bit more and not let you slip up on that stuff, it's valuable.”

It can be hard to balance the line between being one of the guys and the head coach, and certainly difficult to share your vast experiences with younger players without coming off as some Gen-X glory days-evoking has-been. No one wants to hear his tales of sweaty two-a-days under Bill Parcells — uphill both directions! — while they are grinding through their one-practice-per-day camp.

That’s a tightrope Glenn has managed to remain balanced upon. 

“Man, this game, overall the nature of this game, has changed quite a bit,” Glenn said. “I talk about what happened then, and then how it is now, and it’s totally different. But the things that are not different are the principles of the game. I think that’s what some people don’t understand.

“It’s a different type of player, offensive systems are different, defensive systems are different, but the principles of blocking and tackling and running, those have never changed and they won’t change,” he continued. “That’s the nature of this game. It’s a physical, violent sport. I try to tell our guys, ‘Listen, that’s what we’re going to hang our hat on is being that, trying to do that better than anyone else.’ If you look at the winning teams in this league they lay their hat on that. They lay their hat on the principles of this game and I want to be the same way.”

There are times when it looks as if Glenn is poised to jump right back into the hitting life even at 53 years old. During practices he can often be spotted sizing up receivers with his hands dangling near his knees in a ready athletic position like he’s preparing to pop someone. During the preseason game against the Giants, Carter made a play to break up a pass and Glenn could be spotted on the sideline pantomiming almost the exact same technique Carter was using . . . then celebrating as if he had been in on the defense.

“He’s a players’ coach,” Williams said.

Seventeen years after his last tackle, and 13 years into his new career trajectory, there may still be a little more player in him than coach.

'He's an unbelievable teacher, a motivator'

Glenn’s position isn’t unique in today’s NFL. He is one of nine former players who now serve as a head coach. There are four others who, like Glenn, coach a team they once played for: Mike Vrabel with the Patriots, Dan Campbell with the Lions, Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers and DeMeco Ryans with the Texans. 

Three of the nine are new on the job this season — Vrabel, Glenn and Kellen Moore in New Orleans — while the other six (Todd Bowles, Campbell, Harbaugh, Kevin O'Connell, Sean Payton and Ryans) are all coming off seasons where they reached the playoffs. Not bad.

Giants offensive coordinator and associate head coach Mike Kafka, who has interviewed for several head coaching opportunities in recent years and is a former player himself, said having such a background can be a tool on the job.

“Each coach kind of brings their own touch and feel to how they approach the game, reaching the players, getting them to understand the importance of certain things, whether it’s on the field, off the field, the fundamental part of it and just sharing your experiences,” Kafka said. “I think, for me, that’s been probably the coolest thing is being in those same seats with the guys, being in the locker room with the guys, being able to relate to the players and understanding what they’re going through. It’s not any secret this time of year right now when cuts are going down, I’ve been in those positions. I’ve sat there. I’ve been cut before a number of times and I’ve also been part of it where I made the team so I can share that and understand what the players are going through. Those have been my experiences as a coach, as a player. There’s no right or wrong way to it. It’s just what you bring to the table as a person.”

If all it took to be a success as a head coach was being a former player then last year’s Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich might still be around. And former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo would have lasted more than his one post-Bill Belichick season in New England. And maybe Antonio Pierce would have stuck in Las Vegas.

There has to be more. Glenn, it seems, has that, too.

"He's an unbelievable teacher, a motivator," Campbell said of his former defensive coordinator. "He's all about the details and accountability. If he has something on his mind, he's going to say it. He's not just going to sweep it under the rug, he's going to let you know, and I think that's important. Sometimes that gets lost."

“Man, I love playing for him, bro,” former Lions cornerback Carlton Davis said of Glenn last season. “He's intense but he's also a players' coach. He understands but he doesn't drop his standards for anybody. That's the type of guy you want to play for . . . And you know that he knows what he's talking about. I mean, 41 career interceptions, you can't coach that. He's a special guy.”

Perhaps the biggest obstacle for Glenn, historically speaking, is that he was too good a player. He went to three Pro Bowls, two with the Jets and once with the Texans.

Since the start of this century, only four former players have won a Super Bowl as head coach — Tony Dungy, Gary Kubiak, Payton and Doug Pederson. None of them had particularly glorious playing careers and Payton, the only one of them still coaching, probably had the least productive in uniform. He suited up at quarterback for three games for the Bears as a replacement player during the 1987 strike. He completed 8 of 23 passes (34.8%) for 79 yards, no touchdowns, an interception, and a passer rating of 27.3. He was also sacked seven times for 47 yards and had one rush attempt for 28 yards.

The last time a player who performed at a Pro Bowl or All-Pro level won it all as a head coach was Mike Ditka with the 1985 Bears. Of the 20 coaches with the most wins in the Super Bowl era, only Tom Landry and Dan Reeves were All-Pros as players. Among the 14 coaches who have won multiple Super Bowls, only Landry with two was chosen an All-Pro. Maybe that’s why Glenn doesn’t brag too much about his accomplishments, whether it’s on visits to Austin with Wilson or in meetings with the team.

'This is the best job in the world for me'

Glenn speaks broadly about being a Jet, about Parcells, but rarely delves into specifics. The one time he did was during his introductory news conference when he references losing that AFC Championship Game in Denver in 1999 . . . and his desire to avenge it and bring the Jets to their still long-awaited second Super Bowl appearance.

His personal sizzle reel, though, remains locked away.

“I told him we need some highlights one of these days,” Williams said, eager to break down the film of his head coach.

They’re out there if he wants to see them that badly, of course. They’re on YouTube and easily called up on any of the databases NFL teams use to catalog such clips. Just don’t expect Glenn to trot them out anytime soon.

Glenn isn’t living in the past, no matter how enticing it may be to reflect upon it and draw lessons from it. He’s here to coach the 2025 Jets, not be their history professor. That he also happens to have been one of the team’s best players from one of its best eras isn’t mere coincidence, but it doesn’t make him a lock to succeed, either.

Glenn said of all the experiences and lessons and memories and hopes he brings with him to this job: “That’s just who I am.”

“I just love what the hell I do,” he said. “It's not hard for me to come here every day with a smile on my face ready to work, because I just love coaching football, I love being around players, I love being around the coaches. This is the best job in the world for me, and every day I'm living my dream.”

We know that guy. Have known him for decades, ever since he came to us as a rookie out of his high-stepping, pick-6'ing days at Texas A&M. We recognize him. The players recognize him, too, even if they weren’t born when he was patrolling the secondaries at Hofstra in training camp and in games at the old Giants Stadium. He had game and that’s something that doesn’t fade away.

But who will these Jets be under his leadership? Will we recognize them?

We’re about to find out.