Former coach and former player confident in Aaron Glenn's ability to lead the Jets

NEW ORLEANS — Dave Merritt was one of Aaron Glenn’s coaches when he played for the Jets and he noticed right away that Glenn was “different.”

Merritt was a defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2001, Glenn’s last season with the Jets. Merritt said Glenn was a natural leader and it showed in the way he carried himself on the field and in the locker room.

“Aaron had a way about him and how he would speak to his teammates to get them in line with the game plan and basically working between the lines,” Merritt told Newsday this week. “There was no BS. When you see a player who's doing that you say, ‘OK, that guy, he gets it. He understands what we're trying to accomplish.’”

The Jets named Glenn head coach last week. Merritt, now Kansas City’s defensive backs coach, didn’t necessarily see Glenn becoming a head coach back in 2001. But Merritt, who still speaks to Glenn on a regular basis, believes it says a lot about his character that he wanted to work with and help young men.

Merritt and Glenn have a good relationship. They have breakfast every year at the NFL Draft Combine and speak frequently during the season. Sometimes it’s about defense or coverages. Glenn also likes to get Merritt’s take on coaches he might want to hire to work with him.

Glenn was the Saints defensive backs coach and Lions defensive coordinator before getting the Jets job. Merritt has coached in the NFL for 24 years — three with the Jets, 14 with the Giants, one with Arizona and the last six with Kansas City.

Merritt could be a part of his sixth championship team if Kansas City beats Philadelphia in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday. He won two as the Giants secondary and safeties coach under Tom Coughlin.

Merritt congratulated Glenn after the Jets hired him and then the conversation went back to Glenn picking Merritt’s brain on some coaches he might add to his staff.

“He wanted to know about coaches and he wanted to know about character of man as he was trying to formulate his staff, so I tried to help him out with that,” Merritt said. “I’m happy that he has an opportunity to continue on and go back to the club that drafted him.”

Merritt worked on Herm Edwards’ staff with the Jets, under Woody Johnson’s ownership. Merritt hopes Johnson will be patient and give Glenn a chance to build something. Merritt knows how “tough” it is to win in New York and feels Glenn’s past will help him relate well to the players.

“The distractions there are very, very difficult and people on the outside they don't understand it,” Merritt said. “So you need someone who understands that, ‘Hey, I've been through exactly what you guys are going through.’ So with Aaron already having the ability to come at them from that perspective, hopefully he can change the mindset of some of those guys.

“Just looking at the Jets track record, if Woody gives Aaron an opportunity to grow his staff and to form the team the way that he sees fit whether it's four or five years hopefully they can turn this thing around.”

Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson played for Glenn with the Saints and Lions. Glenn pushed New Orleans to draft Gardner-Johnson in 2019 and then got him to sign with Detroit in 2023.

Gardner-Johnson called Glenn “a great coach, phenomenal” and said he got better every year playing for him. He said Jets players can expect the same.

“You get better daily,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I don't think there's no let up. So it should be the same. They’re going to be a tough team to handle, through AG.”

Gardner-Johnson said he “was praying” that Glenn would get a head coaching job and he’s glad it’s with the Jets.

“I'm happy for my guy,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I'm proud that he got a job in New York, where he actually played at, made a name for himself, so that's kind of so surreal for him. I’m so happy for him and his family.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.