Aaron Glenn spars with media over Woody Johnson’s Justin Fields comments

Woody Johnson made his opinion of New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields abundantly clear, putting head coach Aaron Glenn in an even more difficult position than he’s already in.

Attending the NFL’s annual league meeting in New York this week, Johnson spoke to reporters and blamed Fields for the Jets disastrous 0-7 start to the season.

“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with the rating that we’ve got,” Johnson said of the Jets offensive struggles. “He has the ability, but something just is not jiving. But if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you’re going to similar results if you go across the league. You have to play consistently at that position…If we can just complete a pass, it would look good.”

That certainly sounds like Johnson has given up on Fields, who Glenn and rookie general manager Darren Mougey tabbed to be their starting quarterback in the offseason with $30 million guaranteed. But as Glenn now mulls a quarterback change after Fields combined for just 91 yards passing in his last two games, the head coach was asked if the owner’s comments will impact his decision.

Aaron Glenn goes back-and-forth with a reporter on Woody Johnson’s Justin Fields commentary:

Reporter: “We know how [Woody] feels about Justin, clearly he does not want him playing…”

Glenn: “What makes you say that? Did he say that?”

Reporter: “Well, he was very critical of… pic.twitter.com/Ws2xkRkdmD

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 22, 2025

“Woody made his position pretty clear yesterday with his comments,” ESPN reporter Rich Cimini said during Glenn’s Wednesday press conference. “We know how he feels about Justin, clearly he doesn’t want him playing.”

Glenn quickly pushed back, asking to clarify Johnson’s comment while pressing Cimini on whether the owner ever explicitly stated Fields wouldn’t be playing this week.

“No,” Cimini answered, “but I’m curious how his opinion impacts your decision when your owner is basically stating that he doesn’t think Justin Fields is getting the job done.”

“Woody puts that in my hand as far as who plays,” Glenn said. “He trusts me to make that decision. He made a comment, and he has every right to his comment. And that comment was actually said by a number of guys, including our quarterback, as far as the efficiency of how we play. We’re not gonna fight that, we have to get better. But I don’t think there’s anywhere in that comment where he said he doesn’t like Justin… overall, we’re on the same page when it comes to that.”

Glenn hasn’t handled the media well this season, but this one isn’t his fault. As the rookie head coach attempts to navigate an ugly quarterback situation, Johnson made his job much harder by inserting his opinion.

Johnson writes the checks, he’s allowed to come out and criticize a player or any of his employees if he wants. But if you don’t have anything nice to say seven weeks into the season, maybe just don’t say anything at all. Because the owner didn’t do Glenn any favors by making Fields the fall guy before his rookie head coach was able to announce a quarterback decision.