No coaches allowed: Aaron Glenn had his players lead a recent Jets walkthrough practice

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Glenn was unhappy with the New York Jets' performance in their preseason loss to the Giants last Saturday night and insisted his squad would get things cleaned up in a hurry.

So, Glenn got his players together the next day for their walkthrough practice — but added a unique twist.

There were no assistant coaches involved. It was players only, with Glenn overseeing the session while quarterback Justin Fields led the offense and linebacker Jamien Sherwood the defense.

“That's a first time for me,” safety Andre Cisco, in his fifth NFL season and first with the Jets, said Wednesday.

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson first told “Overtime” during an interview with the sports media company this week that the team got together for the player-led session on Monday — the Jets later clarified it was Sunday, a scheduled walkthrough with no media access — and “went at it” for about an hour.

“Yeah, (an) ownership thing and also just us owning the calls, owning the defense and really leaning into what is it that our coaches are going to be calling and why are they calling it, and can we even step in and kind of predict it as a defense?” Cisco said. "So Sherwood kind of took over those duties on that day. And it was just player-led from that standpoint.

“So we gathered ourselves, we took ownership of how many reps we were going to get, and then just holding guys accountable, how we were getting to the ball, executing the calls. And so it was effective.”

Cornerback Michael Carter II said the practice was “nothing crazy," but echoed Cisco's sentiments that the players enjoyed being held responsible for the play calls during the session.

“They've said it, you know, the great teams are those player-led teams,” Carter said, referring to a commonly referenced vision shared by Glenn. “And the players are accountable and we understand what the standard is and how we need to get things done and how things should operate. And so we got a chance to go out there and kind of prove it for the first time, just it being us.”

Glenn is a first-time head coach and a longtime assistant who has played for Bill Parcells and coached under Sean Payton and Dan Campbell, among others, while working his way from being a player for 15 NFL seasons to being a leader on the sideline.

Glenn has acknowledged taking bits and pieces from some of the approaches of his mentors and tweaking them to form his own coaching philosophy. He was Detroit's defensive coordinator under Campbell in 2022, when the Lions held a similar player-led practice during training camp.

“Yeah, it was personally different for me because I’ve never experienced that, just not having coaches out there,” said cornerback Brandon Stephens, who's in his first season with the Jets after spending the past four in Baltimore. "But I think it was great for us to lead the groups by ourselves. We didn’t have a coach to put us through like a little, slow tempo individual (drills).

“So it was cool for us to just like jell and just go out there and do what we love to do.”

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New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn reacts during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn talks to Micheal Clemons during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn reacts to a call during the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

New York Jets' head coach Aaron Glenn, right, greets Garrett Wilson during a joint NFL football practice with the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

DODOMA, Tanzania (AP) — Tanzania’s president has, for the first time since the disputed October election, commented on a six-day internet shutdown as the country went through its worst postelection violence.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday expressed “sympathy” to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country, saying the government would strive to ensure there is never a repeat of the same.

Hassan won the October election with more than 97% of the vote after candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running and the country’s main opposition leader remained in prison facing treason charges.

Violence broke out on election day and went on for days as the internet was shut down amid a heavy police crackdown that left hundreds of people dead, according to rights groups.

Hassan blamed the violence on foreigners and pardoned hundreds of young people who had been arrested, saying they were acting under peer pressure.

Speaking to ambassadors, high commissioners and representatives of international organizations on Thursday in the capital, Dodoma, she sought to reassure envoys of their safety, saying the government would remain vigilant to prevent a repeat of the disruption.

“To our partners in the diplomatic community and foreigners residing here in Tanzania, I express my sincere sympathy for the uncertainty, service restrictions and internet shutdowns you experienced,” she said.

Hassan defended her administration, saying the measures were taken to preserve constitutional order and protect citizens.

“I assure you that we will remain vigilant to ensure your safety and prevent any recurrence of such experiences,” the president told diplomats on Thursday.

Tanzania has, since the October elections, established a commission of inquiry to look into the violence that left hundreds dead and property worth millions of shillings destroyed in a country that has enjoyed relative calm for decades.

Foreign observers said the election failed to meet democratic standards because key opposition figures were barred.

FILE - Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan delivers remarks during a campaign rally ahead of the general elections in Iringa, Tanzania, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo, File)