Why Aaron Glenn's hiring means Aaron Rodgers will likely leave Jets

The New York Jets are looking to turn a new page again. By hiring Aaron Glenn as their new head coach, the organization is hoping that the bad fortunes, luck, and circumstances that have plagued them since seemingly forever — and certainly since 2010-11, which is the last time they made the playoffs — will start to turn around.

That is, of course, exactly what the Jets thought when they acquired four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers back in April of 2023. Rodgers was supposed to be the “final piece” to get the Jets into the playoffs, but it was more than that. The thought was that Rodgers was the piece that could take a young, hungry, and talented Jets team to a Super Bowl.

Four plays into his first game with the Jets, Rodgers tore his Achilles, which cost him the 2023 season. He may as well have sat out for 2024, though, with the way things went for both himself and the Jets. Head coach Robert Saleh was fired after Week 5. General Manager Joe Douglas was fired not all that long after — just before Thanksgiving.

Rodgers looked far from the MVP quarterback he once was, and at 41 years old, it appeared that Father Time was slowly catching up to him. The injury from 2023 certainly didn't help, but long gone were the patented 300-plus yard games from Rodgers and the precision passing that made him a future Hall of Famer.

The Jets finished 5-12, and Rodgers had one of the worst statistical seasons of his career with 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. His average passer rating of 90.5 was the 20th worst among all NFL quarterbacks.

There's a world in which the Jets may want to run it back with Rodgers. After all, he's still a competent quarterback, and he will be under contract next season. There is also a (more realistic) world where Rodgers decides that he's done with the Jets, though.

He could retire, and after the season he's just had, and at his age, that may not be a terrible idea. If Rodgers wants to keep playing but not in New York, he could also request to be released so he can be a free agent, or the Jets could also restructure his contract and trade him. He's set to make only $2.5 million in base salary in 2025, but his cap hit is $23.5 million, which isn't great.

However it happens, the Jets hiring Glenn may actually be the cause for Rodgers to leave the Jets, though, and here are the two main reasons why.

Aaron Glenn and Aaron Rodgers have no history 

Perhaps it doesn't matter much to Rodgers, but recent history suggests that knowing who he's playing for is a big deal for him. Yes, he wanted to be traded to the Jets despite having no prior player-coach relationship with Saleh, but let's not forget about the Nathaniel Hackett of it all.

Hackett was Green Bay's offensive coordinator for three seasons, and Rodgers won his final two MVPs with Hackett part of the process. It was, of course, Matt LaFleur's offense, but Hackett was very close to Rodgers and, by all accounts, a big reason for Rodgers' revival at the end there in Green Bay.

Hackett had a chance as head coach of the Denver Broncos and blew that in spectacular fashion, but the Jets hired Hackett as their new offensive coordinator in January of 2023, just a few months before Rodgers made it public that he wanted to be traded to New York. Hackett was demoted and stripped of play-calling duties after Saleh was fired, and there's really no way he's back with the Jets' new coaching staff.

Not that he was good, but he was arguably the connection that brought Rodgers to New York, and now he'll be gone. Glenn was a player for the Jets from 1994 to 2001, but he and Rodgers have never interacted as player and coach.

Glenn is a defensive-minded head coach

This is just what the Jets do. Outside of a failed run with Adam Gase as head coach, the Jets love themselves some defensive-minded head coaches. Glenn fits that mold. He's a former cornerback; he was the Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator for the past few seasons, and before that, he was a defensive backs coach for the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints.

Everything Glenn does and knows as a player and coach in the NFL revolves around defense, and that's why the Jets like him.

Is a defensive-minded head coach the best fit for an aging quarterback who is looking for one last push and one last spark, though? Likely not. This fit just doesn't make sense for Rodgers. Now, he'll have to figure out if he wants to retire and venture off into the great ayahuasca retreat in the sky or try his chances elsewhere.