By John Jastremski
The first eight weeks of the NFL season were the definition of a horror show for Jets first year head coach Aaron Glenn.
Glenn started the season 0-7, he found himself picking fights with members of the media that cover the team and had a team that looked beyond lost across all three elements of the game.
There was a time back in mid to late October where you wondered A : Where are the wins for this team coming from? B: Could it get bad enough in Jets land for Aaron Glenn to be a one and done head coach?
For what it’s worth, I never necessarily bought into the narrative that Glenn, despite whatever the record may have been in 2025 was on the chopping block, but the optics for the first two months were rough across the board.
Since the calendar has flipped to the month of November, I must admit that the vibe around the Jets the past month is way better.
The team has been far more spirited and competitive. They won 3 of their last 5 games and as a whole have looked far more cohesive and buttoned up.
The penalties are down, the special teams has soared and the quarterback change from Justin Fields to Tyrod Taylor has provided much needed credibility to the offense.
In addition to the improvement on the field, off the field the Jets organization made moves that signal serious organizational competence.
The Jets flipped Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts for 2 first round picks. In addition, they traded Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys for a 1st and a 2nd round pick.
The Jets said goodbye to two very talented players, but they also put themselves in a position to make the most important move the franchise can make.
The Jets are making progress, but it’s irrelevant if they do not get it right long term at the quarterback position.
It may be in this coming draft or the following draft, but the status of the current Jets regime rests entirely on nailing the most important position in football.
The Jets will be in a division for the next decade with Josh Allen in Buffalo and now the emerging Drake Maye in New England.
If you have any hopes of competing with the big boys, better get your guy at quarterback.
So yes, the Jets are trending finally in a positive direction. Want to know if the progress is real and tangible? Get the right quarterback.
You can listen to my podcast New York, New York every Sunday & Thursday on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite at 11 PM on SNY.
