Jets' Justin Fields and Aaron Glenn building a bond this training camp
Justin Fields of the New York Jets throws a pass during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers during a preseason game. Credit: Getty Images
Justin Fields was jogging off the field after leading the Jets on a touchdown drive in Saturday’s preseason game and was met with a big smile and congratulatory hand slap from Aaron Glenn. The relationship between coach and quarterback is very important, and these two have developed a strong one in a short time.
Glenn wanted Fields to be his first quarterback. That’s a significant statement. It’s Glenn’s first head coaching job and he’s confident that Fields can help him achieve his goals with the Jets and turn around this franchise.
Not everyone would take that type of chance on Fields. The Jets are his third team in three seasons. Yet Glenn sees untapped potential and is confident that he and his coaching staff can bring it out of Fields.
The Jets gave Fields a two-year, $40 million contract on the first day of free agency. Since then, Glenn and Fields have built a trust that could go a long way this season.
Glenn has had Fields’ back throughout OTAs and training camp. Stealing a line from one of his mentors Bill Parcells, Glenn said Fields is “not trying to be the celebrity quarterback, he’s just trying to be himself.” Glenn (wisely) wanted no part of the Aaron Rodgers Experience.
In practice, Fields has been up and down as he continues to learn a new offense. Glenn has praised Fields’ maturity and work ethic, though. He has also said Fields needs to play better and that his teammates do, too.
Fields was impressive in his only series in Saturday’s victory in Green Bay. He led a 79-yard drive, hit his checkdowns when nothing was open, didn’t force throws and ran for a 13-yard touchdown to cap it off.
It was just a flash of what Fields can do and of what Glenn believes Fields can be.
“We love where he’s at right now,” Glenn said. “Does he have a way to go? Absolutely, he does. Is he going to continue to work? Absolutely he will, because that’s just who he is. We know exactly where he’s at, we know exactly where he’s going and we’re going to continue to work our [butt] off until we get there.”
The Bears drafted Fields with the No. 11 pick in 2021 — nine picks after the Jets took Zach Wilson. Fields is 14-30 as a starter with Chicago and Pittsburgh. In 50 NFL games, he has thrown for 7,780 yards, 45 touchdowns, 31 interceptions and rushed for 2,509 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Those stats can lead to opinions — more bad than good — about Fields. Glenn has tried to get his players to not let outside noise affect them and said Fields is doing a good job of it.
“He’s going to get criticized for every little thing,” Glenn said. “The good thing about him is he is so mature, and we talk about this on a consistent basis — he doesn’t care. The only thing that we care about is how is he operating and is he getting better, and we see that in-house.”
Drowning out criticism could prove valuable again for Fields. He didn’t receive high marks in a quarterback poll in The Athletic that was posted on Monday. In a survey of 50 NFL coaches and executives, Fields was ranked as a Tier 4 quarterback, which is described as “an unproven player (not enough information for voters to classify) or a veteran who ideally would not start all 17 games.”
Tier 4 also included Giants quarterback Russell Wilson, ex-Giant Daniel Jones, now with Indianapolis, Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr., Minnesota’s J.J.McCarthy and former Jet and current Brown Joe Flacco. Fields was ranked No. 27 overall.
Fields admitted he wasn’t always good at blocking out the noise, but he’s much better now.
“I've learned over the years that no matter what you do, everybody's going to have an opinion on you and opinions don't matter, whether they're good or bad,” Fields said. “The only people's opinion that matters to me is the guys in the building . . . I just focus on my teammates, focus on my coaches and just try to get better each and every day.”
Fields is doing that. It’s easier when you have the trust of and in your head coach. That important relationship is off to a good start for the Jets.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
