NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Jets’ last trip here was just two years ago, but it feels like a decade.
The Jets beat the Titans that day with Robert Saleh as their head coach, Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback and high hopes for a successful 2024 season. Instead, Saleh would be fired three weeks later, Rodgers would win just four more games in a Jets uniform and the season bottomed out.
Now, the Jets return with Saleh on the opposing sideline.
This is Saleh’s first game as Titans head coach, and it comes against his former team in a delicious storyline brought to you by the NFL schedulemakers.
“Our desire to win Week 1, beat the Jets, is because it’s Week 1 and nothing more,” Saleh said, downplaying the revenge angle. “I’m forever grateful for the opportunity they gave.”
While facing their former coach makes a nice headline, the real story for these 2026 Jets is their current coach. Aaron Glenn had a rocky first year on the job, to put it mildly.
He now has to show that he is better than the 3-14 record he posted last year in order to keep his job in 2027.
“I have something to prove to myself,” Glenn said. “I understand what it takes to be a head coach. I like being in this position as a head coach and to make sure we can take this team, and I say we and I emphasize we because it’s not just me, that we can take this team exactly where it needs to go. When I talk about something to prove, I want to prove it to myself more than anything.”
Glenn made major changes to his coaching staff this offseason, the most notable being hiring Frank Reich as offensive coordinator and taking over the defensive playcalling himself. That and an overhauled roster have provided hope to fans that this team might end their 15-year playoff drought.
Some fans view this game as a must-win because the Titans are a rebuilding team and the Jets face projected playoff teams in the next three weeks.
But Glenn is not worried about things like that or facing the man who once sat in his seat. Glenn knows he just needs a win.
“Our job is to go out there and play this game and be the best that we can be on every play and to go out there and win a game, hands down,” Glenn said. “Nothing else is to be thought of, and that’s how I look at it.”
