The Jets’ latest mess has plenty of people ready to toss Aaron Glenn overboard, but Darren Mougey’s case is a lot less black-and-white.
Both men are sitting on the same ugly 5-19 record, and that number is impossible to wave away. Still, the job descriptions are different, and that matters when the front office starts sorting out who deserves another shot.
Glenn’s fingerprints have been all over the team’s problems. New York keeps getting beat on the sideline, his game management has cost the Jets in real time, and there hasn’t been much visible growth from his first season to his second.
Even with some credit for the defense improving this year, that praise lands more on his work as a play caller than on his overall performance as head coach. And after the Jets gave up 28 points to a Dolphins team that had not held a lead this season, that lane of optimism got even narrower.
Mougey, though, has built a much stronger case for himself. If the decision were mine right now, I’d lean toward giving him a third season and the chance to bring in his own head coach.
The clearest reason is the way he has squeezed value out of the margins. In August 2025, he landed defensive tackles Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips by swapping Day 3 picks, and both have become meaningful parts of the defensive line rotation over the past two seasons.
He has also been sharp on the trade market in bigger spots. This offseason, he brought in All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for a seventh-round pick and added top-tier run-stuffer T’Vondre Sweat in a deal that sent Jermaine Johnson out after Johnson became expendable.
That same theme has shown up in free agency. Dane Belton, signed to a one-year, $4 million deal, has been one of the league’s better safeties this season. Kingsley Enagbare, brought in on a one-year, $10 million contract, has arguably been the Jets’ best edge rusher.
The draft work has given Mougey even more cover. Through the first seven games of the season, all three of the Jets’ first-round rookies - David Bailey, Kenyon Sadiq, and Omar Cooper Jr. - have already produced signature performances. Fourth-round rookie Darrell Jackson Jr. has also made his presence felt, carving out a role as an impactful rotational piece and pushing for more snaps.
His first class is looking strong, too. Armand Membou, Mason Taylor, and Azareye’h Thomas are all starting this year, and each has flashed real upside. Membou, especially, has played like one of the league’s best right tackles.
Not every pick has landed. Arian Smith and Tyler Baron have not looked like NFL players, and Malachi Moore hasn’t looked the part either.
But there’s a clear pattern here: Mougey’s premium picks are showing up fast and helping right away. That matters more than finding a hidden gem deep on Day 3, even if those late-round misses deserve criticism.
The biggest thing Mougey has given this franchise, though, is flexibility. A year ago, he dealt Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline and walked away with Adonai Mitchell, three first-round picks, and a second-rounder. The Jets already turned that into Omar Cooper Jr. and D’Angelo Ponds in the 2026 draft, and those moves have the franchise projected to hold two top-12 picks in 2027.
That kind of capital is a major reason there’s still long-term hope around the team. It should not be the only reason to keep him, though. If the Jets don’t believe he can make the right selections, hire the right head coach, and find a franchise quarterback, they have every right to move on after the season.
But there’s also a strong argument for continuity. The roster is better across almost every position group than it was in 2025, and Mougey deserves credit for adjusting his approach. He leaned too hard on young, unproven players last season, then shifted toward a more balanced plan that brought in established veterans and raised the floor.
There have been mistakes, including the Joseph Ossai and Justin Fields signings and the Day 3 swings that haven’t worked. Even so, the evidence points to Mougey as someone who has started to build a competent roster. Right now, that looks like enough to earn a third season and the chance to choose his own head coach.
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Glenn is still in place, but the optics around him have gotten tougher to ignore. His postgame message was meant to take responsibility, yet it only seemed to deepen the sense that the Jets are still looking for the right tone, the right answers and maybe even the right direction from one of their key voices. [Read more 🡒]