New York gave Aaron Glenn a second season after a brutal 3-14 first season, but one NFL executive already has a date circled for when that patience could disappear.
NFL Executive Circles Bears Game for Aaron Glenn
The Jets open Sept. 13 at Tennessee before facing Green Bay and Detroit, then travel to Chicago in Week 4. According to one executive surveyed by The Athletic, a Week 1 loss to the Titans could trigger a three-week slide, turning the Bears’ game into a referendum on Glenn’s job.
“Their pathway to relevance is not firing their coach (Glenn) early in the season and trying to tank,” the executive told The Athletic. “If they don’t beat the Titans (in Week 1), there is a possibility they are 0-3 heading to Chicago and that is a coach-get-fired game.”
The Jets’ schedule gives that warning some weight. After visiting a Tennessee team that also finished 3-14 last season, New York hosts Green Bay on Sept. 20 and visits Detroit on Sept. 27 before playing the Bears at Soldier Field on Oct. 4.
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Glenn survived a first season in which the Jets ranked 29th in scoring offense at 17.6 points per game and 31st in scoring defense by giving up 29.6 per game. New York also finished last in PFN’s Team Impact rankings with a 56.8 grade.
The offseason response was aggressive. The Jets brought Geno Smith back to New York, hired Frank Reich as offensive coordinator, and rebuilt much of the defense. Smith is coming off a rough 2025 with Las Vegas, where he threw 19 touchdowns against 17 interceptions and posted a 68.6 PFN QB Impact grade.
Mike Tomlin, Sean McDermott Already Mentioned as Possible Replacements
The executive did not stop at predicting when Glenn could face trouble.
“I can see a path where the word starts going around that they are going to get (Mike) Tomlin or (Sean) McDermott,” the executive added.
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That should be treated as a projection, not evidence that New York has contacted either coach. Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons in Pittsburgh in January and is not coaching in 2026. McDermott was fired by Buffalo on Jan. 19 after nine seasons and remains an experienced option if he wants another head-coaching job.
The Jets would obviously prefer that conversation to remain theoretical. Beating Tennessee would help immediately.
Losing there, then running into Green Bay and Detroit, could create exactly the scenario the executive described. If New York reaches Oct. 4 at 0-3, Glenn may walk into Soldier Field coaching for far more than the Jets’ first win.
