Last week, former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan returned to the team’s practice facilities for the first time since being fired in 2014.
Head coach Aaron Glenn is receiving praise for allowing that to happen.
“I think it also says something about Aaron Glenn. Rex wanted this job. He interviewed for the job. So I think it shows something that Glenn… It’s pretty cool that he allowed Rex to come in and speak to the team and be a part of it in that way,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini said on the “Jets Collective” podcast.
“It’s great to see Rex out there. It looks so natural for him wearing the Jets colors. I just know how much this team means to him. He is so fired up that Seth [Ryan] is the passing game coordinator. So good for Rex,” Cimini added.
“I think it shows confidence on Aaron Glenn’s part,” longtime radio host Brandon Tierney chimed in on the “Jets Collective” podcast.
Rex Ryan interviewed
An in-depth Search
To say the Jets had a thorough coaching search in 2025 would be an understatement.
According to the team website, the Jets interviewed 16 candidates for the head coaching vacancy. They also did a deep dive for their general manager vacancy by interviewing 15 people for that role.
Ryan and Glenn were both on the coaching interview list. They were competing for the same job.
Ryan wanted the job badly; he talked about it openly in all of his various media gigs from “Get Up” to ESPN Radio and everything in between.
Spoiler alert: Ryan didn’t get the gig. As a matter of fact, he hasn’t been in the NFL since being fired by the Buffalo Bills a decade ago (2016).
It would have been very easy for Glenn to decline Ryan’s request to come to camp over some potential awkwardness from how everything played out. Glenn didn’t he welcomed Ryan in with open arms.
It shows that Glenn is clearly comfortable in his own skin. That is something Cimini told me about Glenn during a few of our conversations this offseason on “Boy Green Daily.”
A Future Viral Moment Is Waiting in the Holster
Ryan visited the first day of mandatory minicamp for the Jets. According to the photos posted by the team, Ryan appeared to speak to the team after practice. Some of the action shots appeared to show Ryan in the middle of a passionate conversation with the team.
At the time of publication, the Jets have not released any piece of that speech outside of a handful of still photos.
Whenever that does drop, that will be an automatic viral moment on social media.
The New York Knicks just won the championship for the first time in 53 years. Before that title, the Knicks had been terrible for much of the 21st century. The same can be said for the Jets particually over the last 15 years.
Gang Green hasn’t had success since the Ryan days, which is why he holds such a special place in the hearts of Jets fans everywhere to this day.
Aaron Glenn Earns Praise for Rex Ryan Jets Move