The Jets came together on Tuesday with their top picks for the head coach and general manager hires, but as of Tuesday night they still had not made a deal with them.
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and assistant general manager Lance Newmark had their second interviews with the Jets.
Both interviews were conducted in person at Florham Park after the first interview was completed virtually.
Both men left Jets headquarters Tuesday evening, but optimism remained that a deal would be reached that would make Glenn the next head coach and Newmark the next GM.
The Jets do not have any other second interviews scheduled and this has been requested again from the first round of applicants.
Glenn may be in demand.
The Saints would like to invite him for another interview, but the weather in New Orleans might help the Jets.
He was originally scheduled to be interviewed by the Saints on Wednesday, but the second interview was postponed due to a rare snowstorm.
Glenn, 52, is a familiar name to Jets fans.
He was the team’s first-round pick in 1994 and played eight seasons for the Jets.
He spent the past four seasons as the Lions defensive coordinator and was part of the franchise’s turnaround from a perennial loser to a playoff team.
The Lions went 15-2 and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC this season.
They shocked the Commanders 45-31 in the divisional round on Saturday.
Newmark is part of the Commanders organization, having worked under GM Adam Peters for the past year.
Before going to Washington, Newmark played for the Lions for 26 years.
Newmark and Glenn have known each other since their overlap in Detroit.
Newmark was considered a possible GM candidate in Las Vegas if Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson takes the Raiders job.
Instead, Johnson chose the Bears, who already had a GM, which freed up Newmark for the Jets to pursue.
It’s important for the Jets to have two leaders on their team who are somewhat familiar with each other.
The Jets have had several bad GM-head coach marriages in recent years.
Glenn and Newmark both helped transform the Lions, something the Jets are trying to replicate.
The Jets are 5-12 this season after starting the year with Super Bowl aspirations.
They failed to advance to the playoffs for 14 consecutive years, the longest drought in North American sports, and suffered 9 straight losing seasons.
Glenn’s biggest question is who he hires as offensive coordinator.
Glenn is considering Scott Turner, who most recently served as the Raiders’ interim offensive coordinator, and Rams tight ends coach Nick Kayley for the job, according to league sources.
One of the names mentioned as defensive coordinator was veteran coach Steve Wilks, according to sources.
Titans cornerbacks coach Chris Harris is also being considered for a coaching staff role, according to sources.
Broncos assistant special teams coach Chris Banjo is likely to become special teams coordinator, according to league sources.
The Jets are looking to replace coach Robert Saleh, who was fired after five games last season, and GM Joe Douglas, who was fired six weeks later.
The team conducted an extensive search, interviewing 16 coaching candidates and 15 GM candidates.
Glenn has been considered a favorite for the coaching job since Mike Vrabel moved to the Patriots.
The Lions’ surprising loss to Washington accelerated the recruiting process.
If the Lions had won, the Jets wouldn’t have been able to interview Glenn in person until next week.
But the loss accelerated the process.
Glenn was scheduled to have a second interview with the Saints on Wednesday, but the Jets made sure that didn’t happen.
Glenn also interviewed with the Jaguars, Raiders, and Bears during this recruiting cycle.
Glenn began his post-playing career as a scout for the Jets in 2012-13.
He then coached the Browns and Saints before taking over as head coach of the Lions in 2021 under head coach Dan Campbell.
