PHOENIX — When Aaron Glenn took the Jets coaching job last year, he spoke about “unfinished business” he left as a player. He spoke about building the team into a consistent winner that could contend for Super Bowl titles.
Now that he is in his second year as head coach and consumed with the day-to-day details of the job, how often does he think of that larger goal?
“Every day. Every day,” Glenn said at the NFL meetings Tuesday. “There’s a couple things I think about on a daily basis. No. 1, I think about the players every day … how do I utilize every player that we have in this roster to help us be successful? What are the things that I have to do to make sure that, man, we get over that hump? Because I’ve been a part of it and there’s no better feeling in the world then we’re downtrodden for a number of years and then we finally get over that hump, and now we’re moving. How do we keep that sustainable for years to come?
Glenn, a 1994 first-round pick by the Jets, said he wants to be remembered for turning the franchise around.
“I want to leave a legacy. I do,” Glenn said. “When I’m gone, I’m looking at this team being a team that consistently puts themselves in a place to win. Every day. It’s not a day, it’s not an hour it’s not a minute that I don’t think about that. And I look forward to trying to make that happen.”
Glenn was a vocal supporter of QB Justin Fields last season. The team traded Fields to the Chiefs after one failed season.
“That was a situation that just didn’t work out,” Glenn said. “I can’t sit here and say I regret [it] because I think Justin is a really good player. I put the fault on me. I didn’t do enough to put him in a position to be successful. And I’m always going to say that. That’s my job as the head coach. So, I think he’s going to do well in Kansas City.”
Glenn was asked for one player he expects to take a leap this season and he named second-year tight end Mason Taylor.
“I’m really looking forward to what Mason does this year,” Glenn said. “I think Mason is going to have a hell of a year. I really do. … You’re going to see him take another step. I’m excited about that player.”
Glenn said he and Taylor had a good conversation at the end of his rookie season and Taylor embraced areas for improvement.