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New Jets coach Aaron Glenn is a disciple of Bill Parcells and Sean Payton, two old-school, hard-scrabble coaches.
Neither Parcells or Payton, two no-nonsense disciplinarians who are all about ball, seem to care much about spinning decisions or “messaging.”
So it was surprising to hear Aaron Rodgers say that during his meeting with Glenn when the coach told him the Jets were moving on, the coach asked, according to the QB, how he wanted the story released to the media – “The messaging,” Rodgers said, “And I said, verbatim, ‘I don’t give a s— about the messaging.'”
Considering how blunt Glenn is, how no-nonsense he is, and who his two mentors are, it’s surprising that Glenn would care about how a story would be spun. That’s not him.
This is probably an aberration.
And we would not expect this to happen again, considering how Glenn is wired.
He was hired to change the Jets’ culture with his take-no-prisoners approach and alpha dog personality, not his work as a spin doctor.
If other people push him to spin stories, or “messaging,” tell them to “pound sand.” If the Jets want to turn their culture around, one thing they need to stop worrying about is how things will look in the media and how many tabloid back pages they grab.
Aaron Glenn – spin doctor? That is the last expression you would ever use to describe this man who pulls no punches.
This isn’t a shot at Glenn; it’s more of a teachable moment for a rookie head coach just a few months into his tenure.
He needs to think at these pivotal moments – What would Parcells do? Or even give him a call in Jupiter and ask him.
Parcells would probably say, “F messenging.”
Whether you like Rodgers’ act or not, it would be hard for an objective person to argue that the meeting between Glenn and the QB was handled in an ideal fashion.
“That was kind of strange,” Rodgers said. “I think we are going to have this long conversation. I’ve flown across the country, and 20 seconds in he goes and he leans to the edge of his seat and says, ‘So, you want to play football?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m interested.’ And he was like, ‘We’re going in a different direction at quarterback.’”
A better way to handle the meeting – here goes:
You fly Rodgers in, you chop it up for a couple of hours, getting the perspective of the two sides, and then make a decision.
Don’t go into a meeting with somebody you have never met before with your mind made up already.
You can be leaning towards getting rid of him, but at the very least, use this opportunity to allow Rodgers to chime in on the team, the operation, and what needs to change.
Almost like all those GM and head coaching interviews they did before hiring Glenn and GM Darren Mougey.
The Jets reportedly interviewed around 30 candidates, and used the process not just as a chance to vet candidates, but to pick their brains, take copious notes, and even if you don’t hire them, you come away with great insight on improving your team.
Why rush him out of there?
Even if you are leaning one way or the other, enter the meeting with an open mind, see what the QB has to say, and if you decide to move on, he goes away without feeling he was given the bum’s rush, and also, the team benefits, from a couple hours of tremendous insight, from a great football mind, about your football operation he was a part of the last two years.
Glenn is a smart guy. He will learn from this, including the importance of not worrying about “messenging.” Just make decisions and move on, like your two mentor, don’t worry about spin.
Moving forward, the only spin Glenn needs to worry about is how Justin Fields spins the ball.
April 21, 2025
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