New Jets head coach Aaron Glenn takes a timeout to kick off his Gang Green tenure to talk about the Jets’ future and his past with the team in a Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: Do you visualize?
A: I do. I don’t take it to the level of how some people talk about it. But, I always see myself. … I always see the end before anything in the middle. I always see this is where it’s going, this is what’s going to happen. That’s why I know it’s going to be something special done here, I already see the end.
Q: What do you see when you see the end?
A: I see Super Bowl. I already see it. It’s going to happen. It’s going to take some work, but I see it.
Q: What specifically do you see?
A: I see myself on that podium. I see Woody [Johnson, team owner] on that podium. I see green and white confetti. … I don’t know what stadium it’s in, but we’re on grass. I see us up there. I don’t know who it’s going to be against, but I see myself holding that trophy with Woody. … I don’t know why Terry Bradshaw is in it, but he’s in it (laugh). He’s part of it when it pops up.
Q: How often does it pop up?
A: Pretty often.
Q: What drives you?
A: Ever since I’ve been young, I want to be the best at what I do. And I want to be the first. I want to be No. 1. I’m still pissed because I wasn’t the first corner taken in the [1994] draft, because I knew I was better than that player.
Q: Who was it?
A: Antonio Langham. He went 9 and I went 12. I’m pissed at that still. My wife and kids’ll tell you that. And I’m still driven by that. I’m still driven by just winning. … I think that’s what I was born to do is win. Listen, I’m going to have my losses. It’s going to happen. But at the end of the day, winning is who I am. Winning is what I’m about.
Q: How would you describe your motivational style?
A: I’m a very aggressive but impassionate, I would say, speaker. [I’m] demanding, but not a demanding person. … I’m going to be on you, but it’s not going to be to a point to where I’m going to disrespect you. And I think that has reached people more than any other thing that I’ve ever witnessed, because they know it’s coming out of love. It’s not coming out of pointing the finger or being disrespectful, it’s coming out of, “Man, I know you can do this, I’ve seen you do this. Since I’ve seen you do this one time, I’m going to try to get this out of you every time. I’m not going to allow you to settle for anything less than that.”
Q: What won’t you tolerate?
A: Don’t disrespect your teammates and don’t disrespect the game.
Q: Do you have rules?
A: Three rules: Don’t be late … don’t disrespect your teammates and don’t disrespect this game. This game has done a lot for me, it’s done a lot for a lot of us, and we’re not going to disrespect it.
Q: What is your definition of toughness?
A: There’s so many different ways you can go with that, because there’s physical toughness and there’s mental toughness. Obviously physical toughness is being able to sustain in a physical environment for a long period of time. And mental toughness is being calloused, because adversity is going to hit. During training camp, my job is to make our players as calloused as possible. Meaning that once we get in the season, we’re going to go through so much during training camp, and by the time you get to the season, the hard stuff, you’re going to be calloused to be able to go through that. I’m going to put guys through that during training camp. It’s not going to be easy in training camp.
Q: Burst, speed and finish?
A: Those are some things defensively that I teach, is burst, which is a change of speed … finish, which is completion. And speed is just a maximum rate. So if you run a 4.3, I want to see a 4.3.
Q: Your wife Devaney told me you’re built for this. Why are you built for this?
A: I’ve had challenges like all my life. I was always the one not to be able to do it.
Q: People told you, you couldn’t do it?
A: Oh yeah. That’s in a lot of different things. I wasn’t the biggest, I wasn’t the strongest. I didn’t market myself like other people marketed themselves. All those things, and she’s been with me for 28 years and she’s seen me overcome all those things and then make a name for myself. And I feel like I have a confidence about myself, and it’s not arrogance. … I just feel like no matter what, I’m going to win. I’ve been a part of winning for quite a while in my life. Listen, I’ve had some losses too, but I won quite a bit in my life, and I feel like I know what it takes to win. And I feel like I know what it takes to sustain winning also.
Q: What was the biggest thing you had to overcome?
A: My dad passed away. Again, he was the most influential person in my life, and when he passed away, it just felt like there was a void. I’m going to cherish every day that I’m on this earth. Whatever obstacles come my way, I’m looking to defeat them. Anything, whatever it is, I’m going to defeat it. Because I saw how defeated I was when my dad passed, and I know that’s not what he wanted me to do, because it definitely wasn’t him. So any obstacle that comes my way, man, I’m going to jump at it, I’m going to defeat it and I’m going to win no matter what. Just like this opportunity right here.
Q: What happened to your dad?
A: He had a brain aneurysm. … I think he was 70 at the time. … Ten years ago. I tried to put it out of my mind. It was tough.
Q: In what way were you defeated?
A: My dad used to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning. He would not come back until 9, 10 [p.m.]. So when I was a kid, obviously I wasn’t up at 4, so I never saw my dad in the morning. And then when he was coming home, my mom was getting us ready for bed. And when we played different activities, obviously my dad couldn’t be a part of it. Some of my siblings, they had a hard time with that. They didn’t get it, they didn’t understand. My mom never worked. And obviously it’s going to be hard for her to work with 11 kids (chuckle) to try to take care of and try to take to different activities. She was a rock in itself to be able to do that. I quickly figured this out that my dad sacrificed himself, he sacrificed being able to do things with his kids to make sure he’s going to put food on the table. And to me, that’s the definition of sacrifice. … And it’s also the definition of leadership to where, “I’m going to take the backseat, and I’m going to work my ass off to make sure that I can feed my family.” And, that’s all he thought about, no matter what. And I had to make sure I educate some of my siblings on, “Listen, you got to think about what he had to do to feed 11 kids.”
Q: Which one were you?
A: Lucky number 7 (smile).
Q: Describe the traits of an Aaron Glenn football player.
A: It starts with my coaching staff. Then it goes to support staff. Then it goes to the football players. I’m looking for guys that — this could be men and women — that love football. People that are highly, highly competitive. And people that are going to endear themself to their teammates or co-workers. That’s the first thing I look for. I want to know the who before I know the what when it comes to a player. I want to know who the player is. Does he love football? How competitive is he? Does he endear himself to his teammates, and to the strength and conditioning coach, to the equipment staff? How does he operate with them? Then when it comes to an identity, I want smart, tough, aggressive and resilient. And actually break that down into this one word: I want a “STAR” — smart, tough, aggressive and resilient. And those are the things that I see on tape. So I have characteristics of what I want the person to be, and then the identity of the person is what I see on tape. That’s the STAR.
Q: Who are some great leaders you admire?
A: I would say the first one is Martin Luther King [Jr.]. All the great leaders that I’ve known in my life truly influenced anybody they were around. When they stepped into a room, there’s just something about that person that influences the room. Martin Luther King was one of those guys. My dad [Amos Cleo] was another one. My dad was highly influential because of who he was in the city of Houston. And the way he operated. He was a self-made man. He had a wood contracting business where he hired people in the neighborhood. I come from a small town [Humble, Texas], and there wasn’t a lot of jobs that was being given to people in our neighborhood. My dad was one of the only men that owned his own business. He used to haul pulp wood, and we had these huge 18-wheelers, we had a huge piece of land. … Bill Parcells … Sean Payton … Dan Campbell. Those guys were very, very outstanding leaders to me.
Q: What do you remember about the flight home following the Jets’ 1998 AFC Championship loss in Denver?
A: Oh, man. I will tell you the first thing, Wayne Chrebet’s sister got jumped on [in the parking lot]. So I was pissed at that. And it was obviously a long flight back to New York. I can remember [shortly after] halftime, we were up 10-0. And I was saying to myself, “Man, we’re about to go to the Super Bowl.” We were going to play Atlanta, they beat Minnesota on a field goal [in overtime]. And we beat Atlanta [28-3 in the regular season]. We beat the hell out of them. And, at halftime, I’m like, “Man, we’re on our way.” It’s so crazy because I just had that feeling again this past season [2023] with Detroit, against San Francisco. Like, “we’re about to go to the Super Bowl” [before blowing 24-7 lead]. We faltered.
Q: What do you recall about Vinny Testaverde tearing his Achilles in Week 1 the next season?
A: Oh, man. I felt we had the best team in the league that year. I thought our coaching staff did a really good job when our guy went down. I think we still ended up 8-8 that year. It was devastating. Because of what we did that year before, I just knew we were going back. Listen, I don’t blame the injuries, I don’t. Hell, I just went though that. But man, you had a guy as polarizing as Vinny was at that time, and as good as he was playing, I just knew that was going to send shockwaves not just through the New York-New Jersey area, but through our team too, that our leader went down.
Q: Do you remember when Parcells addressed the team after the ’99 season saying he would no longer coach the Jets?
A: I do. I knew it was going to happen. And I knew that he was going to still be in some capacity part. It was just who was going to be the guy? And I come to find out that Bill Belichick wasn’t going to be the guy. I knew that it was going to be part of that tree, because I know how Bill Parcells operates. I didn’t know exactly what Coach Belichick was going to do, but I knew it wasn’t going to be him.
Q: He didn’t tell you that.
A: No, no, I’m not going to go in to that.
Q: So you were not surprised when Belichick had that press conference.
A: No. But that was a shock to the system when I first heard it. But man, that was a crazy day, there was so much going on, there was so much media coverage. I felt for some of the players that we had, because No. 1, Bill was stepping down and 2, Bill was stepping down (laugh). And then, who’s the next guy? Then it’s going to be Al Groh, who we all respected anyway. It was just a different time.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Martin Luther King, my dad, Michael Jordan.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Shawshank Redemption.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Denzel [Washington].
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Halle Berry.
Q: Favorite singer/rapper/entertainer?
A: Scarface in Houston.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Steak.
Q: Favorite player growing up?
A: Walter Payton.
Q: Describe Darrelle Revis.
A: One of the best.
Q: Deion Sanders.
A: The best.
Q: The Fake Spike in 1994?
A: Horrific.
Q: How often did you go rodeos in Houston?
A: All the time. Still do.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Q: Quick answers. Whatever you took from these guys: Parcells.
A: How to push people.
Q: Payton.
A: Relating to players.
Q: Campbell.
A: Being authentic.
Q: When Parcells put a little dollhouse on your locker to challenge you not to let the receiver that week move into it.
A: Pissed.
Q: Finish the sentence: I will be a success because …
A: Because of work ethic.
Q: What is your definition of a winning culture?
A: Well, obviously it’s going to be about the wins and losses. But it’s people. If you bring the right people in, you create a winning culture. And it goes back to what I was saying before: love football, highly competitive, endear themself to teammates and co-workers. If I get that, we’ll have a winning culture.
