Aaron Glenn landed in the Big Apple with a point to prove. “You cannot win games in this league with an undisciplined team,” Glenn said back in July. It was a direct challenge to a roster that had been burning itself with drive-killing penalties all last season. So, he stripped the operation down to the basics—bringing referees onto the practice field to flag every single misstep, no matter how small. The mission? Kill bad habits before they get a chance to ruin Week 1.

And the recent preseason clash tested every inch of the Jets‘ resilience. The scoreboard wasn’t the real story—the yellow flags were. Ten penalties for 91 yards told the tale of a team still battling its own worst enemy. For a group trying to carve out a fresh identity under a first-year head coach, those mistakes don’t just cost yards. They kill rhythm, stall drives, and chip away at confidence. Glenn’s reaction wasn’t a fiery rant, but it was pointed enough to make sure everyone knew it couldn’t continue.

However, Glenn’s push for discipline isn’t just a quick-fix reaction to one ugly night. It’s a long-term foundation he’s been laying since he first stepped into Florham Park. Training camp has looked more like real game days, with officials ready to throw flags at the smallest infraction. The point is to build discipline into muscle memory. “We were the most penalized team in the league last year, so that’s one of the things I want to nip in the bud early,” Glenn said last week. “Making sure that the discipline part of what we do—we fix that now.” Now, the expectation is that he will continue to focus on that standard.

“Penalties, 10 of those things for 91 yards last night. And it is something I don’t, unfortunately, Jet fans have become all too familiar watching,” ESPN New York’s Ty Butler said. He also added context: “Now, I will say the context of the penalties happening in the preseason are a little bit different, because these are guys trying out for the team. So it’s not necessarily those players who are going to make the final 53.”

Still, the message is clear—if Glenn wants to erase the scars of past Jets regimes, it starts with discipline. Every flag is a setback, and every unchecked habit risks dragging the team back into old ways. For the Jets’ culture to truly shift, this is the mess that has to be cleaned up first. And Glenn is working on it.

So far, Aaron Glenn is doing great

Even before the preseason opener kicked off, Aaron Glenn had already drawn a line in the sand—this wasn’t going to be business as usual. Unlike past regimes that kept starters in bubble wrap through August, Glenn was upfront with his plan. “I want our guys to play. That’s the reason,” he told reporters when asked why Justin Fields and other key pieces would be on the field. That approach paid off early, as Fields looked sharp and balanced—throwing with confidence and keeping plays alive with his legs, exactly the dual-threat spark the Jets hoped for.

Then, from the very first snap, Glenn’s run-first identity came to life. On the opening drive, New York pounded the ball twice straight before sticking with the ground game, leaning on a patched-up offensive line to carve space for Braelon Allen. When it was time to air it out, coordinator Tanner Engstrand kept things quick and clean. “I thought Tanner did a really good job getting the play calls in so the guys could play with tempo and play fast,” Glenn said. “Fields used his legs, checked it down, was patient, and did everything we needed to win.”

That combination of bruising runs and streamlined passing is exactly what can help Fields take the next step. It fits perfectly into Glenn’s blueprint—control the line of scrimmage, punish with the run, then strike when defenses over-commit.

In the bigger picture, Johnson’s return to PUP only adds muscle to a defense built to back up Glenn’s offense. With Fields and Engstrand showing signs they can keep points coming, the Jets might finally have a formula worth betting on. Now, it’s all about whether this new coach-QB combo can deliver when it counts.