It’s been a long, frustrating road for the New York Jets and their fans. Fourteen seasons have come and gone since Gang Green last played meaningful football in January. That 2010 postseason run, a second straight AFC Championship Game appearance, feels like an eternity. Since that time, it’s been missed opportunity after missed opportunity with countless numbers of different regimes at the helm. Not to mention, is the number of “franchise” quarterbacks that haven’t panned out the way fans and coaching staffs have hoped for. Mix all of that with seasons filled with different drama and you have Jets football in a nutshell over the last 14 seasons.
Now, entering the 2025 season, the Jets stand at a turning point.
For the first time in over a decade, there’s a legitimate sense of hope in Florham Park. Now I know what everyone’s thinking. There have been other senses of hope before with previous coaches and front offices. This hope begins with two key new faces: head coach Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey.
Glenn, a former Jets cornerback and respected defensive mind in the NFL ranks, brings leadership and a sense of passion for a franchise that’s been long seeking this. Darren Mougey came in slightly under the radar this off-season as the assistant GM for the Denver Broncos for the last 3 years. Highly regarded nonetheless, but others in the industry possibly saw him being a GM after another year or two down the line. Fast forward and the Broncos had one of the biggest bounce back years out of any team in the NFL. They won 10 games and seems to have found their franchise QB in Bo Nix finally.
This was a huge deal for a franchise that was in a similar position as the Jets seeking stability and a quarterback to rely upon. They found both with Sean Payton as their Head Coach and now Bo Nix as their franchise signal caller. The Jets might’ve stolen Mougey from other teams a year ahead of schedule and this could end up being one of the better hires they’ve made in the last few decades in the front office.
Meanwhile, Justin Fields steps into the spotlight as the team’s new starting quarterback, replacing Aaron Rodgers, whose brief and injury-plagued tenure never delivered the renaissance fans were promised. Jets fans will always live in the “what-if” stage wondering what could’ve been if Aaron Rodgers didn’t tear his Achilles on that opening Monday night 9/11 game against the Bills. Fields has massive shoes to fill, but he’s not alone as this will have to be a collective team effort to dig themselves out of this hole.
The Jets have quietly assembled one of the most exciting young rosters in football. From All-Pro corner Sauce Gardner to offensive weapons Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall just to name a few of the youngsters with massive potential. The defense was already among the league’s toughest last season. There is real talent on both sides of the ball and adding in Aaron Glenn should keep that defense humming like it’s always been.
The big question as it’s mainly been as of late is how good can this offense be? Glenn brought over passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand to run the offensive side of the ball. He has never been in the position of offensive coordinator, this will be a huge test for how well he can run the operations now officially being the guy.
An NFL.com Analyst has optimism for this Jets team in 2025
According to NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman, New York might finally be ready to take the next step. Bergman recently had the Jets ranked as the third most-likely team to return to the playoffs after missing out in 2024, only behind the Falcons and Colts.
“Not only is the Jets’ 14-season streak of postseason-less football double the length of any other drought in the NFL,” Bergman noted, “it’s also tied for the longest current period of such mediocrity in all American professional sports.”
The Jets’ playoff absence hasn’t just been long, it’s historically painful. From the near miss of the playoffs in 2015 with Fitzmagic, to the failed Adam Gase/Sam Darnold duo, the mysterious Zach Wilson era, and Rodgers’ Achilles injury just playing 4 total snaps in his first year leading to his downfall. All of these situations have led to more than just losing but losing with pain. All the hype and hope throughout the years has built pressure like a bubble for this organization.
But 2025 COULD be different.
The key word is “could” in the phrase above. With general manager Darren Mougey leading a revamped front office and a favorable schedule (the Jets’ .460 strength of schedule ranks 26th in the league), the pieces are in place for a possible turnaround. This path will be far from easy since most experts view the Jets as one of the bottom dwellers in the NFL. This feels right for the time being. Until they prove otherwise this is where the team belongs. This sense of being underdogs could spark the team and lead to exceeding expectations sneaking into the playoffs.
The AFC is dominated by the main teams; Bills, Ravens, and Chiefs, but outside of that leads to some question marks. The Bengals have possibly the best offense in the NFL but as we saw last year that still wasn’t enough for them to make the playoffs. Denver is up and coming but analysts have some doubt because of the strength of schedule they had last season. Chargers look good on paper, but can Justin Herbert take that next step? Plenty to unfold but that’s what playing the games are for.
If Fields can deliver competent, dynamic quarterback play, and if Glenn’s leadership can steady the ship keeping the team grounded, the Jets have a shot to break the longest playoff drought in franchise history. A lot of things need to happen but hey, crazier things have happened. Whether all of this happens remains to be seen. But for the first time in years, the future feels less like a punchline and more like a promise.
Main Image: © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
