There are 31 franchise owners in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers are owned by a publicly held non-profit organization. Meanwhile, other teams like the New York Jets are owned by a man like Woody Johnson.
Of course, not all NFL team owners are the same. Johnson is known for interfering in his team’s football decisions, and has been highly criticized for this over the years.
Now, according to ESPN’s Jets insider Rich Cimini, Johnson is back at it again. The Jets were close to hiring Don “Wink” Martindale as Glenn’s new defensive coordinator, but plans apparently changed after the job description also changed.
According to a source close to Martindale, “Martindale’s interest was based on his ability to defend himself, and he came away from the second meeting with the impression that Glenn had changed the parameters of the job. About a week earlier, Glenn had attended organizational meetings at owner Woody Johnson’s home in Palm Beach, Florida. The timing of those meetings, as well as the sudden end of Martindale’s candidacy, fueled speculation that Johnson, who interfered Known for, had instructed Glenn to run the defense himself.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini on Aaron Glenn
The Jets came close to hiring a highly respected and experienced defensive coordinator who had never called plays before. It’s a fairly significant change, but we can see why candidates like Martindale, who has been an NFL defensive coordinator for seven seasons, were no longer interested in the job, leaving the Jets to go to Brian Duker.
The Jets interviewed eight candidates for the position, but Duker got the job just one day after meeting with the team. Either way, it doesn’t matter, as Glenn plans to call the team’s defensive plays in 2026 anyway, but now he won’t have an experienced right hander to handle the duties if things go awry again in New York.
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