Exclusive: NFL Execs Call Aaron Glenn’s Jets Tenure ‘Disastrous,’ Pan Sauce Gardner Trade as ‘Stupid & Unnecessary’

In 1985, English rock group The Smiths released one of their most famous songs, entitled “How Soon is Now?” It’s a song that remains a favorite to this day when performed by the group’s lead singer, Morrissey, in concert. Yet it’s also a question that’s asked every year by New York Jets fans who are constantly told they must be patient. The dysfunctional organization has been on the hamster wheel of rebuilding since 2012, the past 14 seasons. Since that time, the team has had just one winning season in 2015, the only time they sniffed the playoffs, which they’ve not been a part of since 2010.

The franchise went through another regime change this past offseason after firing head coach Robert Saleh and dumping general manager Joe Douglas, whose contract expired. Owner Woody Johnson made the unilateral decision to fire Saleh five games into the 2024 season and claimed, “This is probably the best team I’ve had in 25 years.”

Johnson then elevated defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to the head coaching spot, and the Jets finished the season 3-9 from that point. The 2024 squad was basically the same team some predicted would go to the Super Bowl the prior year after the organization traded for quarterback Aaron Rodgers – except Rodgers was available the entire season.

Apr 26, 2023; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) (center) poses for a photo with New York Jets owners Christopher Johnson (left) Woody Johnson (right) during the introductory press conference at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Glenn, a first-round pick by the New York Jets in 1994 who went on to become a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback, was eventually hired as head coach after a recommendation from a search committee headed by Mike Tannenbaum (former general manager for the franchise) and Rick Spielman. Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, who turned the Jets organization around upon his arrival in 1997, also endorsed Glenn for the position.

The end result? A 3-13 record with one game left, a passing offense that ranks worst in the league, and a defense that ranks at the bottom of the league. In between all this was trading away cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams – former All-Pro selections and early first-round picks by the team in 2022 and 2019, respectively.

Putting personnel opinions aside, I reached out to a pair of NFL executives I’ve known for many years and a local New York insider to get their take on the organization and the direction it’s heading.

What are your feelings on the Job Aaron Glenn has done this season?

“I’m not surprised,” said the first executive, “I wasn’t a fan when he was the defensive coordinator with the Lions and wasn’t expecting much. He’s a good guy, but he has limitations, and going to an organization such as the Jets exacerbated those limitations. Look at how his counterpart in Detroit (Ben Johnson) is doing with the Bears this season.”

“To say it’s been disastrous is an understatement,” said the second executive. “Glenn is a defensive-oriented head coach, yet the defense has been awful this season from the get-go. The defense basically lost the season opener by allowing Pittsburgh to drive down the field and score at the end of the first half then again late in the 4^th quarter for the game-winning field goal.  The Jets should have had a week 1 victory.  The defense gave away the game against Tampa Bay after their special teams put them in the driver’s seat to get a win. And while many pointed the finger at former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, the defense has gotten worse since he was fired. From my point of view, the team has given up on Glenn.”

My New York insider said, “There are too many red flags to count, but the lack of direction is most concerning. The secondary has been a disaster all season long, and you would think Glenn, being a good cornerback in the league for all those years, would have a grip on that unit, but he does not. Not a single player on defense showed real improvement this season. Quincy Williams, who was a terrific linebacker under Saleh, has watched his play fall off a cliff. Will McDonald has shown no progress in his game. There comes a point in time when you have to stop pointing the finger at the players and look at the coaches and the schemes employed; that’s been the situation with the Jets since the first month of the season!”

Did you think trading Gardner and Williams made sense?

“It was stupid and unnecessary,” said my New York source. “They basically had two cornerstone players on defense, younger guys they had locked up for a number of years, and traded them away. In essence, they created two more monster holes on a depth chart that had holes all over the place to begin with. People point to the fact that Williams was complaining about his contract as a reason he was dealt; big deal, it happens all the time in the NFL.”

Executive No. 1 said, “They certainly got a haul of picks and a decent receiver (Adonai Mitchell) in return. The issue for the Jets is they’ve never been consistently good at drafting. Yes, they’ll have a good draft every half-dozen years like they did in 2022, but it’s more miss than hit. I like what [general manager Darren] Mougey has done. The problem he faces is he’ll literally have to hit on every pick the team received in return for Gardner and Williams to justify the trades.”

“Gardner and Williams were not appreciated by this staff,” said executive No. 2. “People claim Gardner’s play has regressed, but his rookie season was so incredible, few would be able to improve on that year. He is still a terrific cornerback. Williams is a penetrator who plays with a high motor; those guys are tough to find. My biggest concern with these trades is what happens if the Jets win five games next season and then fire Glenn? A new coach comes in, and he can say all those players selected with all that draft capital in 2026 were not his players, much the way Glenn said of Gardner and Williams! They traded certainty for uncertainty; usually, that does not end well!”

Would you fire Glenn after just one season?

“It wouldn’t be the first time for the Jets,” said my New York insider. “Remember, they fired Pete Carroll after just one season in 1994, then hired Rich Kotite!”

Executive No. 1 said, “The Jets are in a similar position to the Patriots a year ago. Kraft realized the team was going nowhere with Jerod Mayo, stepped in, and fired him. That’s really what needs to happen with the Jets, but who are they going to hire as a replacement?”

NFL, American Football Herren, USA New York Jets Minicamp Jun 11, 2025 Florham Park, NY, USA New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn looks on during minicamp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Florham Park Atlantic Health Jets Training Center NY USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJohnxJonesx 20250611_rtc_ja1_0126

“It’s a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation for the Jets, and as usual they are screwed,” said executive No. 2. “If you keep Glenn and the Jets are horrible next season then you fire him, you put the franchise back another five years. But unlike last year when Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson, Liam Coen and others were available, this year’s group of coaching candidates does not look nearly as good, so you may as well stand pat and hope for the best with Glenn.”

With all the draft capital the Jets have, does it make sense to trade up to the first or second pick and ensure a quarterback in April’s draft?

“No,” said executive No. 1. “The team has so many needs that they can’t be giving away picks to move up and get a quarterback. The bigger question is who will develop any quarterback they trade up to draft? Do you trust the coaching? I don’t.”

Executive No. 2 tells me “If the price is not exorbitant, yes. I like Mendoza, I don’t love him. He’ll be an asset in the locker room as much as on the field. If Moore enters the draft, and I don’t see how he’s returns to Oregon looking at the finances, he could be the better quarterback down the road.”

“The Jets started digging the hole at quarterback last offseason,” my New York source believes. “Cutting Aaron Rodgers and signing Justin Fields looked debatable when they made the moves.  Then not selecting a quarterback in last year’s draft was downright foolish. I was told after the [2025] draft that Tanner Engstrand and many of the offensive coaches were pushing for quarterback Jalen Milroe in the third round, but Glenn won out and they selected cornerback Azareye’h Thomas. Now Thomas showed ability this season before getting hurt and Milroe hasn’t played for the Seahawks since showing NFL skills in the preseason. But at the very least, Milroe could’ve been on the field for the Jets now rather than Brady Cook, and the team would know if they had something to build upon at the position rather than starting from scratch.”

If you were Woody Johnson, what would you do?

“Woody is typical of many owners today, who built their fortune elsewhere, or in his case inherited money, and bought their way into the league,” said executive No. 1. “The problem, as exemplified by Johnson, is many of these owners feel they are qualified to make football decisions, which is laughable. Remember Daniel Snyder? You have winning owners such as Robert Kraft and Jeffrey Lurie, who like the spotlight yet are smart enough not to get involved in roster moves or football decisions. They let the football people handle the football business. Woody and his brother haven’t shown the inclination to completely hand over the reins in the past 15 years.  Until that happens, nothing will change.”

Executive No. 2: “The Jets must clean out the entire organization from the President, to the dot.com people, to the marketing team, to the coaching staff, and everything in between. They need a completely clean slate, and the Johnson brothers need to get out of the facility in Florham Park, if they already haven’t, and insert a strong-willed football person as their president or EVP to run the organization.”

“Jets fans despise Johnson and want him to sell the team- which he won’t do,” said my New York source, “yet if you look at the recent history fairly and objectively, Woody tried to do the right thing. Getting involved with roster moves and making decisions based off internet opinions, which you had the story on, was stupid. But Woody did hire a search firm for a general manager in 2013. The problem is, they hamstrung the GM’s ability to hire a new head coach and ended up with John Idzik, which turned into a disaster. Johnson did consult with Peyton Manning, who recommended Adam Gase, another disaster. And he used his former general manager, Mike Tannenbaum, to search for their new head coach/general manager team, and here we are. The point is, Woody is not making these decisions unilaterally; rather, he’s reaching out to people for recommendations. It’s the people he’s reached out to for advice that have failed the organization as much as Woody and Chris Johnson.”

In a nutshell, what do you think of the immediate future of the organization?

“Many believe the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. That’s what the Jets have done for more than a dozen years, and it’s only going to get worse,” said executive No. 1.

Executive No. 2 quips, “Go back to what I said after you asked me if trading Gardner and Williams was a smart move. I don’t think Glenn lasts past the 2026 season, then you have a new regime that wants its own players, and the organization is set back another five years. The question then becomes, assuming Glenn is gone, would you keep Mougey as the general manager and allow him to pick the new coach? Mougey is growing into the position, and that could stop the bleeding.”

October 26, 2025: New York Jets QB Justin Fields signals before the play during WEEK 8 of the NFL, American Football Herren, USA regular season between the Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Jets in Cincinnati, Ohio. /CSM Cincinnati USA – ZUMAc04_ 20251026_zma_c04_130 Copyright: xKevinxSchultzx

“It’s a sad situation that I think is only going to get worse,” said the New York insider. “The fans are fed up, and with good reason. Go to a Jets game, and more times than not, the stadium is half full, and half the crowd is rooting for the opposing team. The team they share the stadium with, the Giants, is battling for the first pick of the draft. Yet would you rather be the Jets or the Giants at the present time? The most concerning issue is that, unlike the Giants, there’s nothing a Jets fan can point to as a building block coming out of this season. What do they have to look forward to? It’s all unknown draft picks and potential free agent signings. That’s the way it’s been with this organization for more than a decade, and it’s never worked out.”

The sense of dread about the franchise from the trio I spoke with is palpable. The Jets finish up the season against the playoff-bound Buffalo Bills on Sunday.  This marks the end of year 15 of their 3-year rebuilding.

Jets fans watch as the New England Patriots, Washington Commanders, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, and even the Denver Broncos have turned their franchise for the better on a dime. Meanwhile, the New York Jets continue to wallow in the mire. There are some obvious answers and fixes, such as the ones my three sources mentioned, but whether or not they are actionable depends on the owners.

 

The post Exclusive: NFL Execs Call Aaron Glenn’s Jets Tenure ‘Disastrous,’ Pan Sauce Gardner Trade as ‘Stupid & Unnecessary’ appeared first on EssentiallySports.