Aaron Glenn’s biggest Jets win was ending Aaron Rodgers farce but new QB decision could get coach fired

Aaron Glenn got it right with Aaron Rodgers.

Since then, the New York Jets are 3-14 and in danger of firing another head coach.

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Bad ending sealed Rodgers’ time in New York

“This thing is not about Aaron Rodgers, folks. This is about the roster,” Glenn said in January 2025, after becoming the 22nd coach in Jets history.

“We plan on building the best roster that we can. So, whatever that may be — guard, tackle, defensive tackle — that’s what we’re evaluating. Listen, everybody’s under the microscope. That’s just what it is.”

Rodgers failed under the microscope in New York, despite forcing his way to America’s most populous city and the Jets teasing Super Bowl expectations.

But Rodgers and the J-E-T-S getting divorced was about more than a torn Achilles that stunningly cut short a future Hall of Famer’s first season in New York.

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Rodgers’ personality and me-first tendencies increasingly clashed with the Jets, who’ve long been one of the NFL’s most dysfunctional teams and are often caught in the middle of the whimsical desires of owner Woody Johnson, who’s worth an estimated $11 billion and now has ties to Crystal Palace in the Premier League and Aston Martin in Formula One.

“Absolutely,” said Johnson in 2025, when discussing a potential Jets return for Rodgers.

“Aaron’s a talent, for sure. He’s a Hall of Famer. … I’m not going to voice my opinion. That’s up to them.”

Then Glenn stepped in and made a decision that is still being felt in New York and Pittsburgh.

Rodgers used McAfee to sound off after Jets divorce

A preseason matchup between the Jets and Rodgers’ Steelers on Friday at Acrisure Stadium could be the last time that the 42-year-old quarterback has any NFL contact with New York.

The Jets were clearly tired of Rodgers’ endless drama in 2025, while Rodgers took shots at the franchise after he felt like a cross-country flight on ‘my own dime’ was pointless.

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“What I thought was gonna be a couple-hour meeting turned into like a 15-minute meeting,” Rodgers told the Pat McAfee Show.

“I walked out of there … I don’t want any part of that. It was already a debacle.”

The Jets were a debacle in 2025, starting 0-7 while bouncing between Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor, then finishing with the second-worst scoring defense (29.6 average points allowed) in the league and losing their final five games.

Glenn’s early win in moving on from Rodgers was soon replaced by a series of losses.

His odd decision to be ‘tough’ with the media last season while coaching a weak Jets team also backfired.

Glenn has misfired since moving on from Rodgers

“Absolutely. Absolutely,” Glenn told The Athletic. “Another mistake. Because I came in and I was already p***** at something else, had nothing to do with the media.

“And then I started to think, man, take it out, these guys and gals, and for what? They had nothing to do with this here. That was a mistake.”

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A slow start could doom Glenn in 2026.

So could the Jets being the only NFL team willing to pay Geno Smith $3.3m to be a starting QB.

Where do Jets go from here at QB?

Cade Klubnik, Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe are the backup options behind Smith, who had a tumultous offseason and was constantly in the news for the wrong reasons.

The good news for the Jets is that they moved on from Rodgers after realizing that his regular McAfee appearances were doing nothing to help the T-E-A-M.

The other news is that the Jets are still the J-E-T-S, and Glenn’s inability to find a real QB after firing Rodgers could soon force Johnson to hire the 23rd coach in franchise history.