Jets coach Aaron Glenn's attempts at bullying the media are silly
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn speaks during a news conference after the Jets defeated the Cleveland Browns in an NFL game Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Credit: AP/Yuki Iwamura
Aaron Glenn will not be named NFL Coach of the Year. But he deserves a Pulitzer Prize.
The guy has pulled off a rare feat for this era: A public figure who takes on journalists and makes most people sympathize with the journalists.
What are the odds? Yet here we are.
The Jets coach’s ongoing, unnecessary, embarrassing bickering with reporters has done nothing to help him or his team or his team’s image or . . . well, anything. It’s just silly.
Glenn has not lost since Oct. 19 and is coming off an unlikely victory over the Browns after the Jets traded away their two best defensive players and operated without competent play at quarterback.
Yet on Tuesday and Wednesday, rather than buzz over a potential third victory in a row on Thursday night in New England, the talk of the town on social media and sports talk radio was another tense news conference full of misdirected anger.
To briefly review: Glenn repeatedly referred queries about wide receiver Garrett Wilson’s injured knee to ESPN reporter Rich Cimini.
It seems Cimini had the temerity to report Wilson has a knee sprain and will be out for 3-4 weeks.
Rather than blame whoever leaked that news, Glenn seemed to be mad at Cimini for doing his job. And Glenn did not dispute the accuracy of the report.
Finally, an exasperated reporter said, “AG, no disrespect to you or Rich, but we want to hear it from you, you know?’’
Said Glenn: “You guys have been hearing [injury updates] from me, but now since we’re just reporting stuff that I haven’t said, then maybe you should ask [Cimini].”
He then left the podium with a smirk.
Many Jets fans are as baffled by the point of all this as the news media is. A friend of mine who has supported the Jets since the 1970s said he initially thought Tuesday’s video was AI-generated, because how could this behavior be real?
Glenn has been at it since he got here, making enemies when he needs friends, throwing cynical verbal jabs left and right and most famously refusing to discuss who will start at quarterback.
The point of these news conferences, as Glenn should know, especially as a former star player in this market, is gathering information of interest to the public.
That includes gamblers and fantasy football players, which is why his stonewalling about Wilson’s status is particularly concerning.
It’s true the Jets followed NFL policy by reporting Wilson did not practice this week and then ruling him out on Wednesday. But part of the reason for transparency when it comes to injury information is to make sure everyone in the public is on the same page, thus blunting the danger of insider information.
Wilson is the Jets’ best player and most productive offensive weapon. Glenn presumably wants secrecy for competitive reasons, but the NFL wants a lack of secrecy for even bigger reasons.
Some of this obstinance presumably comes from Glenn being a disciple of Bill Parcells, who coached him with the Jets. But like many Parcells wannabes before him, Glenn does not get it.
Parcells knew how to play the media game, especially in his early years with the Giants. He talked tough on camera but established relationships with writers in off-the-record kibitzing sessions.
Yes, that was a different era. It is more difficult deep into the 21st century to have that sort of casual interaction with journalists. But Glenn is not even trying civility.
Let’s be clear here: Glenn’s job is to win football games. Everyone understands that. If he were 7-2 rather than 2-7, he would be widely viewed as a hero for sticking it to obnoxious reporters.
But he is not 7-2. He is not Bill Parcells. He is not handling this in a way that is in the best interests of an organization that is forever fighting for respect and stability.
Glenn’s bizarro video clips on several occasions this autumn have led ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
After the 2006 season, when Tom Coughlin barely survived as the Giants’ coach, he had a series of offseason, off-the-record meetings with reporters to allow both sides to better understand each other.
Coughlin took copious notes. He asked questions. He pushed back on some points and conceded others.
At that point, he had been an NFL head coach for 11 seasons and had 97 regular- and postseason victories — 95 more than Glenn has.
I’m free this winter if you want to chat, Coach Glenn.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
