The Jets are walking into Week 1 with a problem that has nothing to do with raw talent. On the sideline, Tennessee simply looks better equipped.
That’s the uncomfortable truth in this matchup: coaching may decide more than people want to admit, and the Titans appear to have the stronger staff. New York is hoping Aaron Glenn can turn things around after a rough first year as head coach, but his opening act was messy enough that confidence has to be earned, not assumed. Even the basics - timeout usage, clock management - were issues.
The contrast starts at the top with Glenn and Robert Saleh. Saleh, now in his first year as Tennessee’s head coach, is a familiar name for Jets fans for a reason.
During most of his time in New York, defense was the one part of the operation that held up. From 2022 through his in-season firing during the 2024 season, the Jets were consistently difficult to move the ball against, and they even stole games with defense alone.
The numbers back that up. From 2022 through 2023, the Jets ranked third in the NFL in defensive EPA per play at -0.077, behind only the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. Saleh’s overall record in 56 games was 20-36, including two seven-win seasons with Zach Wilson at quarterback and a 7-4 start in 2022.
The issue in New York was obvious: quarterback play. That’s the hardest position to fix and the easiest one to expose.
Saleh did more with Wilson than most would have expected, but once Aaron Rodgers returned from his torn Achilles for the 2024 season, the offense still sputtered. The Jets opened 2-3, Saleh was fired, and the season unraveled from there.
New York finished 5-12, and its defense fell off hard, dropping from fifth in defensive EPA per play over Weeks 1-5 to 30th after Saleh’s firing.
That’s why Tennessee can feel better about its defensive outlook heading into Week 1. Saleh has already shown he can build a unit that plays at a high level.
He helped construct a Super Bowl defense as the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator before taking the Jets job, and now he’ll have the chance to call Tennessee’s defensive plays himself. That matters.
In New York, Jeff Ulbrich was the play-caller.
Glenn, meanwhile, is still trying to prove that his own defensive reputation translates to a head-coaching role. He earned credit for helping turn Detroit’s defense around and for navigating injuries, but he wasn’t the one calling the plays there - Steve Wilks was. There’s hope Glenn can make the Jets’ defense look different in 2026, but hope isn’t the same thing as proof.
That’s the gap. Saleh has a track record. Glenn has questions.
And the Titans’ edge gets even wider on offense.
Frank Reich versus Brian Daboll is not a close comparison. Daboll’s time as head coach of the Giants ended, but his offensive chops were never the issue.
He helped fuel Josh Allen’s rise in Buffalo and won a playoff game with Daniel Jones. If he can bring that version of himself to Tennessee, he gives Saleh the kind of offensive partner every head coach wants.
Daboll’s task is straightforward, if not simple: figure out what Cam Ward does well and build a second-year jump around it. Ward’s rookie season was rough, shaped by an in-season coaching change and an unstable supporting cast. He still has a lot to prove, but his situation now is stronger than it was a year ago.
Reich brings a different kind of uncertainty. His last two NFL stops ended with mid-season firings, and after stepping away from football for a year, he coached at Stanford University in 2025 before becoming the Jets’ offensive coordinator this offseason. There are some positives, including the schematic fit between him and Geno Smith, but it’s been a long time since Reich had sustained success at the NFL level.
The early signs with Reich are more encouraging than not, but Week 1 is where the real answer starts to show. For now, Daboll has the clear advantage.
Put it all together, and Tennessee owns the coaching edge on both sides of the ball. Until the Jets prove otherwise, that’s the biggest difference in this game.
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