aaronglenn.png
Getty Images

Aaron Glenn is making something clear ahead of his first season as coach of the New York Jets — he respects offseason acquisition Justin Fields and expects his players to rally around their new quarterback.

Fields went 4-2 as a starter last season in place of the injured Russell Wilson with the Pittsburgh Steelers and will be QB1 again, this time in New York, following the departure of Aaron Rodgers.

Glenn was asked this week about Fields' demeanor inside the locker room and what he's learned from the former first-round pick since taking the job. One reporter mentioned Fields being known as a "quiet, chill guy" before Glenn interjected.

"That is his personality," Glenn said about Fields on Wednesday. "Exactly what I just said is what he's trying to do. Just to be a positive influence on all of his teammates. Listen, Justin's doing things outside of the building that I'm going to let him speak on when you guys talk to him to show how he is trying to just have relationships with all of the players, and not just the offensive players, either. All of the players on the team. That has a lot to do with leadership there -- just being able to communicate with offensive guys, defensive guys, it doesn't matter, special teams.

"He's doing a really good job of that," Glenn continued. "He has a quiet voice, but that doesn't mean people don't hear him. People see the way he works. That speaks more than what you say. And I like that about him because he's himself and he's authentic. He's not going to change for nobody, and I'd rather have that than somebody who is fake.

Glenn said Fields is "a man's man" and appreciates his genuineness, before delivering a quote many consider was aimed at Rodgers.

"I'm [going] to use a [Bill] Parcells deal now -- he's not trying to be the celebrity quarterback, he's just trying to be himself," Glenn said. "Whatever comes with that, comes with it. He's not trying to impress anybody."

Rodgers' messy exit from the Jets this spring is well-documented. Rodgers revealed last month a "shocking" conversation with Glenn after the pair met to discuss the QB's future. Rodgers said that Glenn implied the quarterback situation in New York would be a locker-room distraction.

"[Glenn] said, 'I don't wanna be up in front of the room, saying something, and have guys looking back at you,'" Rodgers said during an interview on the "Pat McAfee Show." "And I said, 'What does that even mean? Are you assuming that I would be in the back of the room during the team meeting, undermining what you're saying?' I said, 'You don't know me.' And he said, 'You don't know me.' And then I said, 'Exactly. Which is why I flew across the country to have a face-to-face meeting with you, to talk about my experience with the Jets and to hear your vision for the team.' 

"What I thought was gonna be a couple-hour meeting turned into like a 15-minute meeting, and I walked out of there ... I don't want any part of that. It was already a debacle."

Rodgers hasn't decided on where he'll play for the 2025 season, but the league-wide expectation is the Pittsburgh Steelers.