Right from his first day, Aaron Glenn made one thing crystal clear—this wasn’t going to be a vacation. “I’m gonna challenge these guys. I’m not gonna sugarcoat anything,” he said when he joined the Jets. “If you want to be here, prove it.” That shot across the bow wasn’t just for effect. Indeed, he directed that at a team that had grown too comfortable under Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich. Fast forward to now, the Jets look far from sleepy.

Naturally, that mindset isn’t accidental. Glenn wasn’t brought to the Gang Green just to fix the Xs and Os—he’s here to change the whole vibe. “When I woke up at that time, I didn’t go back to sleep,” Glenn told Heavy’s Jordan Foote. “I don’t think I’ll go back to sleep anytime soon… It’s a day of teaching, and I want to make sure I go through that the right way.” He’s not just talking training camp wins either. Glenn already has his eyes on February.

As Jets X Factor’s Connor Long put it, “Aaron Glenn’s message to players: ‘The expectation in training camp is trying to create new things. Super Bowl is down the road.’” Even the players are starting to match that fire. When asked about Will McDonald showing surprising power in recent training camp, Glenn didn’t miss a beat.

“Coaching. Coaching. It’s coaching,” he fired back. “Because he can do it. You just said he has never done it last year, right? Now you see him do it. It’s just coaching. That’s all it is.” A brutal but honest dig at the previous Jets staff, who clearly didn’t tap into McDonald’s full potential.

Moreover, players are buying in. “It feels a lot better,” Breece Hall said, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “A lot of instability around the whole operation” last season is gone. Still, Cimini pressed Glenn about Justin Fields—who briefly went down in camp but returned the very next day.

So when Cimini asked if Fields was now behind in the offense, Glenn didn’t let it slide. “Why would you say that? He missed one day. He’s going to be just fine… He’s been in meetings,” Glenn answered. After all, Fields has shown up, studied, and stayed locked in all offseason. Missing a single practice doesn’t change that. Glenn knows it—and he’s betting on it.

Glenn calms Gotham panic as Fields shakes off injury drama

At first, it felt like disaster had struck Gotham. Justin Fields, the Jets’ brand-new QB1, had just hit the turf during a drill at Florham Park—and didn’t get up. The play was routine, but after planting his foot mid-throw, Fields crumpled in pain. The medical staff rushed in, bringing in a cart. And with Fields riding shotgun off the field, Florham Park froze.

Later, team doctors diagnosed a dislocated right toe—no fracture, but still enough to rattle the Gang Green faithful. Less than 24 hours later, head coach Aaron Glenn stepped to the mic, offering some much-needed calm.

Glenn revealed the injury likely came from a teammate stepping on Fields’ foot, not contact from a defender. That detail eased some nerves. So did the optics—Fields riding passenger, not driving the cart himself. They have listed him as day-to-day, with hopes he’s back before kickoff. But even in injury, Fields won praise from Glenn. “Trust character, not fear narrative,” the coach said, nodding at his QB’s resilience.

Then came the part that silenced the noise. “Well, that’s who Justin is,” Glenn said with conviction. “Listen, I’d rather have a guy that I have to hold back than have to tell him to giddy up. So, he’s built like that; he’s a tough man… I knew exactly how he’s gonna operate. That’s most of the gas we have.” And that gas just cost the Jets $40 million—with $30M guaranteed.

Moreover, Fields’ 2024 season in Steel Town gave the Gotham Faithful reasons to believe. A 93.3 passer rating, sharp accuracy, and fewer risky throws showed he’s growing smarter, not just tougher. Still, there’s one cloud left. Will he return in time for Lambeau? The Jets better hope so—because without Fields, this whole playbook changes.