The Jets didn’t hold Aaron Glenn hostage, but there’s no reason for fans to panic

From pretty much the moment the coaching carousel began, the New York Jets have had one man atop their head coaching wish list: current Detroit Lions defensive coordinator and former Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn, who managed to build another ferocious unit this season (NFC Divisional Round loss to Jayden Daniels aside) despite a truly ridiculous string of injuries. Glenn has schematic chops and a degree from the Dan Campbell School of Leadership, plus he's a franchise legend. There's nothing not to want, and want him the Jets do — so badly, in fact, that when the team finally got to interview him on Tuesday, it was apparently determined not to let him leave without a deal in place.

And yet, that's exactly what happened; per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Glenn's interview has come and gone, and he is in fact headed back home without agreeing to anything.

On the surface, that sure doesn't seem like good news, especially considering that another of Glenn's former teams, the New Orleans Saints, has him in their sights. If Glenn had his heart set on coaching the Jets, and the Jets have their heart set on Glenn, presumably this would be a done deal already. The fact that it's not can only mean that something has gone wrong, and given Woody Johnson's ... less-than-stellar track record, it's hard not to assume the worst.

That might be premature, though. Sure, Jets fans would've loved to have locked Glenn down on Tuesday, but it's not time to cry that the sky is falling just yet.

Jets still in great position to land Aaron Glenn as next head coach

According to several reports, just because Glenn didn't reach an agreement with New York while still in the building doesn't mean that talks have broken down.

There could be any number of things still up in the air, from how personnel decisions will work to the team's coaching staff to something as simple as the Jets wanting to do their due diligence. Glenn is clearly interested in the New York job, the chance to return to the team that drafted him three decades ago and still has quite a bit of talent on the roster. And we've seen plenty of teams hire coaching candidates a day or two after their interview, just like the Chicago Bears did with Glenn's former colleague, Ben Johnson, over the weekend.

We get it; Jets fans are used to watching things go wrong, and we don't blame you for not having a ton of faith in Johnson's ability to build a stable, functional organization. But Glenn isn't such a slam-dunk candidate that the team should be willing to shut everything down immediately; New York is casting a wide net, and seems to be in control of the process.