The New York Jets bought the 2026 season off to a rousing begin as they dominated the Tennessee Titans on their strategy to a 23 – 10 opening day victory. It was their first win since November 30, 2025, and solely their third double digit win because the 2023 season. It has been a very long time because the Jets have seemed dominant. Sadly, it didn’t final.
Since that massive opening day win the Jets’ fortunes have been step by step sliding downhill. They dominated the Titans all sport in week 1. In week 2 the Jets dominated the Inexperienced Bay Packers for 49 minutes earlier than they collapsed and allowed 13 unanswered factors to shut the sport in an time beyond regulation loss. In week 3 in opposition to the Detroit Lions the Jets by no means dominated, however they saved the sport shut and had been in place to tie the rating late earlier than Geno Smith misplaced a fumble on the Jets’ closing drive of the sport. In week 4 in opposition to the Chicago Bears the Jets had been totally dominated from begin to end in a 23 – 12 loss that was not almost as aggressive as the ultimate rating would possibly point out.
The pattern right here shouldn’t be encouraging. The Jets have gotten much less aggressive with every passing sport, culminating in a sport in opposition to the Bears on Sunday the place the Bears outgained the Jets by nicely over 300 yards and the Bears had extra first downs on offense than the Jets offense had performs. That’s annihilation.
The loss introduced the Jets 2026 report to 1-3. Playoff hopes are already rising faint, as groups beginning the season 1-3 have solely made the playoffs a bit over 13% of the time because the 2012 season.
For Aaron Glenn the loss was his seventeenth in a bit greater than a 12 months as Jets head coach. He has a 4-17 report total, good for a .190 successful share. The Aaron Glenn Jets have misplaced 8 of their final 9 video games and 10 of their final 12. That could be a very troubling report.
The Jets have had 13 head coaches who’ve coached the crew not less than two full seasons. In chronological order they’re as follows:
Sammy Baugh
Weeb Ewbank
Walt Michaels
Joe Walton
Bruce Coslet
Wealthy Kotite
Invoice Parcells
Herm Edwards
Eric Mangini
Rex Ryan
Todd Bowles
Adam Gase
Robert Saleh
Of those 13 head coaches, solely Wealthy Kotite had fewer wins than Glenn after 21 video games. Kotite was arguably the worst head coach in Jets historical past, and one of many worst in NFL historical past.
Solely two of those 13 Jets head coaches had lower than 10 wins after two seasons: Wealthy Kotite and Adam Gase. Each had been fired after two seasons with the crew. For Glenn to get to 10 wins over two seasons he would want to win not less than six of the remaining 13 video games within the 2026 season.
Glenn has a .190 successful share in his head teaching profession with the Jets. Only one Jets head coach has ever been worse in his first two years: Wealthy Kotite.
Glenn’s Jets had a -203 level differential in his first season as Jets head coach. Not even the lowly Kotite ever posted a worse level differential. Actually there has solely been one worse season in Jets historical past. Adam Gase posted a -214 level differential in his 2-14 2020 marketing campaign. He was promptly fired.
The Jets season seems like it’s already slipping away. Glenn’s profession as Jets head coach could observe go well with. It’s troublesome at this level to determine a lot that Glenn has excelled at. It’s not troublesome to level to areas wherein he has struggled. With three extra first spherical draft picks within the 2027 draft quickly to be made and the Jets very seemingly deciding on a quarterback with one among them, can the Jets afford to permit the Glenn regime to make these picks if we don’t quickly see a serious turnaround? Six first spherical picks in two years symbolize an historic alternative for a fast turnaround. It will be a serious disappointment if the crew invested a regime that has proven little probability of success to date with that chance.
The Jets have had simply 13 playoff seasons of their 66 12 months historical past. Solely two of them concerned a begin with 1 or fewer wins within the first 4 video games of the season. It occurred within the 1991 season when the Jets improbably sneaked into the playoffs with an 8-8 report with a dramatic time beyond regulation victory over the Miami Dolphins on the final day of the common season. They had been then unceremoniously bounced out of the playoffs with a loss within the Wild Card spherical. The Jets didn’t return to the playoffs for seven years after that loss.
Should you’re searching for a silver lining, right here it’s. In 1981 the Jets had not made the playoffs because the 1969 season, an 11 12 months drought that was the longest in Jets historical past till the present 15 12 months streak. The Jets hadn’t had a successful season throughout that 11 12 months stretch, a streak that exceeds some other such stretch in Jets historical past, together with the present 10 12 months streak.
That 1981 Jets crew was led by first time head coach Walt Michaels, who had by no means posted a successful report in his first 4 seasons as Jets head coach. The 1981 season gave no indications it could be totally different after the primary 4 video games. The Jets opened the 1981 season with a 31 – 0 blowout loss to the Buffalo Payments. After three video games the Jets had been 0-3 with a -60 level differential. The season was threatening to spiral uncontrolled.
Then one thing clicked. The Jets gained in week 4. That began a ten sport stretch wherein the Jets misplaced only one sport. By the tip of the season the Jets had been 10-5-1 and within the playoffs for the primary time since 1969. They misplaced within the Wild Card spherical to the Buffalo Payments, however that 1981 season was the start of the legendary New York Sack Change Jets. Seemingly in a single day the LOL Jets had been remodeled right into a pressure to be reckoned with. They went on to make the playoffs 4 of the subsequent six years, the most effective sustained stretch of Jets soccer of their historical past. Ultimately the Sack Change grew previous and broke up, and the Jets entered a decade of horrible soccer from the late Eighties by way of the late Nineties. However for a short while within the early to mid Eighties the Jets had been a harmful soccer crew, led by a head coach in Walt Michaels who had by no means had a successful season earlier than the turnaround.
Can Aaron Glenn observe in Walt Michaels’ footsteps and usher in a brand new period of sustained Jets success? Primarily based on what we’ve seen from him to date, it doesn’t appear seemingly. However Michael’s dramatic turnaround in 1981 appeared simply as unlikely after 4 video games of the 1981 season. Then every thing modified.
Whether or not Glenn has it in him to engineer such a turnaround is the query the Jets should reply this season. Proper now the season, and Glenn’s Jets profession, look like slip sliding away. Time is working out for Glenn to alter this. If we don’t see main progress quickly, the Jets might want to as soon as once more transfer on and begin over.