The Detroit Lions saw Aaron Glenn leave town this offseason to become the New York Jets' head coach. It's his first chance to be an HC in the league, and it's a reunion for him after playing for New York during his NFL career.
With training camp kicking off in late July, Glenn and Jets are wasting no time pushing the buttons on star cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and Glenn challenged Gardner upon their first meeting, and that talk has already resonated with the young CB.
Jets new coaching staff challenging Sauce Gardner to reach new heightshttps://t.co/1Wiv4O5lOz pic.twitter.com/v1fEXGvMQq
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) July 7, 2025
Aaron Glenn and Jets Are Pushing Sauce Gardner
Gardner said, "I know I'm not perfect, but the fact that he's trying to get perfection out of me is what I need because, you know, I've had a lot of success, early success in the league. And the last thing I need is a new regime to come in here and just allow me to be complacent. I'm not saying that's who I am, but it's great to just have those type of guys that are going to demand a lot out of me and just push me in ways that I've never been pushed before."
Gardner started his career on fire, winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2022) while being a two-time First-Team All-Pro (2022, 2023) and two-time Pro Bowler (2022, 2023). He was easily considered one of the top 3 CBs in the NFL, but his play fell off a little bit in 2024.
Tackling was one area in which Gardner's play slipped. Last season, he had the seventh-highest missed tackle rate among corners at 23.3%, which was an 11.7% increase from the 2023 season (11.6%).
According to PFF, he had a 70.2 overall grade (46th among 222 graded cornerbacks) and a 73.1 coverage grade (33rd among 222 graded cornerbacks). Meanwhile, during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he had at least an 87 overall grade while logging a 90-plus coverage grade, which was No. 1 in the league for both campaigns.
The biggest thing that Glenn and his staff will challenge Gardner to do is create more turnovers, as he only has three interceptions in three seasons. New York will run more man coverage, which could allow Gardner to use his length and speed to disrupt opposing receivers at the line of scrimmage.
Glenn feels like Gardner has a lot of potential, and he wants to push him to new heights in New York.