The New York Jets are one of several franchises that will be on the search for a new regime to lead the football operations this offseason.
They moved on from head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during another frustrating campaign. Their playoff drought is now 14 years and they have gone nine straight seasons with a losing record.
Whoever is tasked with fixing this mess is going to have their hands full as there are a lot of obstacles to overcome.
There are some analysts wondering if the top candidates would even want the job given how things have gone under Woody Johnson’s ownership.
Alas, there are only 32 head coaching and general manager jobs in the NFL. Some are less appealing than others, but if the opportunity to move up in the ranks presents itself, someone is going to take the job.
For the Jets, that someone could be a familiar face.
While all of the talk has been about people potentially not wanting the job, there is at least one person who is on the opposite end of the spectrum — Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
He was a three-time Pro Bowler during his 15-year NFL career, the first eight of which were spent in New York after being selected No. 12 overall in the 1994 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M.
According to Rich Cimini of ESPN on his Flight Desk podcast, the team’s former star cornerback is interested in the head coaching job with his old team.
"Now I have not talked to Aaron in quite some time but I can tell you that he really is really interested in the Jets position,” Cimini said.
That kind of reunion is one that fans could certainly get behind, rooting for someone they used to watch on the field every Sunday.
But, the Jets are going to face competition for him should they pursue him for the vacancy. Cimini added that the New Orleans Saints could be interested in Glenn as well.
He spent his final year as an NFL player with the franchise in 2008. Five years were spent on their coaching staff as defensive backs coach as well before being hired as part of Dan Campbell’s staff with the Lions.
Glenn has certainly earned the chance to interview for some head coaching positions and eventually land a job. The turnaround Detroit’s defense has undergone with him as the coach has been remarkable.
They were arguably the worst defense in the NFL during his first two years on the job, but they now have a strong unit that compliments their explosive offense, making them one of the true Super Bowl contenders in the league.
That kind of turnaround is exactly what New York is looking to have with their next hire. They will probably speak to Ben Johnson as well, who is the offensive coordinator on the Lions staff.
