Aaron Glenn and Jets eager to put disastrous season behind them and continue to build for the future

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Glenn began his tenure as the New York Jets’ head coach with bold talk of changing a culture and fixing the failing foundation of a struggling franchise.

Nearly a year later, the Jets remain a major work in progress.

Glenn was the first coach in team history to open with seven consecutive losses. It didn't get much better as New York finished 3-14 and had one of the worst closing stretches in NFL history by getting outscored 188-46 during their season-ending five-game losing streak.

“I let the players down,” Glenn said Sunday after the Jets' 35-8 loss at Buffalo. “I let the organization down, and that burns me, it really does. This was not expected of where we are this season and I understand that. But here’s what I do know: I know the reason why I came here, and I am not going to waver from my belief and what I think wins games in this league.”

He still apparently has the backing of owner Woody Johnson, who didn't make the kneejerk reaction to cut ties with Glenn after just one awful season.

Some frustrated fans might disagree, though. They haven't seen their team go to the playoffs in 15 years, the league's longest active postseason drought. And they might not be sure Glenn, a former star player for the Jets, is the right person to lead them back to respectability. There are questions about personnel and staff decisions, in-game calls and general head coaching acumen.

His players, though, remain optimistic and receptive to Glenn's vision.

“I’m still encouraged, man,” said center Josh Myers, who finished his first season with the Jets after four in Green Bay. “I believe in AG and everything that he’s preached. I’ve been around enough good leaders to know that he's a great one. I trust that we’re going to come back and have a great season next year.”

There are plenty of decisions that need to be made by Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey for that to happen.

“If we have the same conversation — you can ask me this question next year — and I’ll be able to have a more direct answer to the fans. But for right now, it’s Year 1. There’s so much to figure out,” said defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, who has seen rebuilds in Buffalo and Minnesota.

“Give us the next eight months of an offseason. Let us go out there and try to put our best foot forward next season, and let’s see what the results show.”

The Jets have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft in April. As a result of their trade of cornerback Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis in November, they also have the No. 16 selection, along with two second-rounders, including one they received from Dallas for trading defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

But with the failed stint of Justin Fields, who could be released in the offseason after just one season, quarterback will be the No. 1 target. That means Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Oregon's Dante Moore, if he doesn't return to school, are very much in play for New York.

Adding a veteran in free agency or via trade also isn't out of the question, with the likes of Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Malik Willis, Marcus Mariota and Jacoby Brissett among those who could be in play. Backup Tyrod Taylor is scheduled to be a free agent.

Glenn fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks with three games left and the Jets crawled to the finish line under interim Chris Harris as they ended with five blowout losses.

“That's gonna go down as a terrible statistic over a span of time,” Phillips said. “Nobody in this organization want to have their name affiliated with that and, unfortunately, we do — and my hand is in that.”

Another issue was the Jets not getting their hands on the football. They became the first team in NFL history without an interception in a full season.

The future of running back Breece Hall will be a big focus. After running for 1,000 yards for the first time in his four NFL seasons, Hall can become a free agent.

Glenn has regularly praised Hall and the running back has been a key part of the offense. New York could place the franchise tag or transition tag on him or sign him to a new deal. Or Hall, who was the subject of trade rumors, could opt to find a new backfield elsewhere.

The Jets have around two dozen potential free agents, so there could be a major roster overhaul — fitting for a team that struggled so much.

Among those scheduled to be free agents: kicker Nick Folk, offensive linemen Alijah Vera-Tucker and John Simpson, safeties Andre Cisco and Tony Adams and linebacker Quincy Williams.

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson, one of the Jets' few stars, was limited to just seven games because of a knee injury that ended his streak of consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards receiving to begin his career at three.

He should be back during the offseason workouts and will provide a No. 1 option for whoever the quarterback is next season. In-season additions Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie III are solid complementary pieces.

The focus for Glenn, Mougey and the Jets turns to gearing up for free agency — they should have about $95 million in salary cap space — and evaluating for what could be a franchise-altering draft.

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FILE - New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields warms up before an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ella Hall, File)

New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) runs for a touchdown against New England Patriots cornerback Miles Battle (35) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn looks on during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Artemis II astronauts fired their engines and blazed toward the moon Thursday night, breaking free of the chains that have trapped humanity in shallow laps around Earth in the decades since Apollo.

The so-called translunar ignition came 25 hours after liftoff, putting the three Americans and a Canadian on course for a lunar fly-around early next week. Their Orion capsule bolted out of orbit around Earth right on cue and chased after the moon to nearly 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away.

It was the first such engine firing for a space crew since Apollo 17 set out on that era’s final moonshot on Dec. 7, 1972. NASA said that preliminary reports indicate it went well.

NASA had the Artemis II crew stick close to home for a day to test their capsule’s life-support systems before clearing them for lunar departure.

Now committed to the moon, the Artemis II test flight is the opening act for NASA’s grand plans for a moon base and sustained lunar living.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will dash past the moon then hang a U-turn and zip straight home without stopping on land. In the process, they will become the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth, breaking the Apollo 13 distance record set in 1970. They also may become the fastest during their reentry at flight’s end on April 10.

Glover, Koch and Hansen already have made history as the first Black, the first woman and the first non-U.S. citizen to launch to the moon. Apollo’s 24 lunar travelers were all white men.

To set the mood for the day’s main event, Mission Control woke up the crew with John Legend’s “Green Light” featuring Andre 3000 and a medley of NASA teams cheering them.

“We are ready to go,” Glover said.

Mission Control gave the final go-ahead minutes before the critical engine firing, telling the astronauts that they were embarking on “humanity’s lunar homecoming arc” to bring them back to Earth.

Koch replied: “With this burn to the moon, we do not leave Earth. We choose it.”

The next major milestone will be Monday’s lunar flyby.

Orion will zoom 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) beyond the moon before turning back, providing unprecedented and illuminated views of the lunar far side, at least for human eyes. The cosmos will even treat the Artemis II astronauts to a total solar eclipse as the moon temporarily blocks the sun from their perspective.

While awaiting their orbital departure earlier Thursday, the astronauts savored the views of Earth from tens of thousands of miles high. Koch told Mission Control that they can make out the entire coastlines of continents and even the South Pole, her old stomping ground.

“It is just absolutely phenomenal,” radioed Koch, who spent a year at an Antarctic research station before joining NASA.

NASA is counting on the test flight to kickstart the entire Artemis program and lead to a moon landing by two astronauts in 2028. Orion’s toilet may need some design tweaks before that happens.

The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned as soon as the Artemis crew reached orbit Wednesday evening. Mission Control guided astronaut Koch through some plumbing tricks and she finally got it going, but not before having to resort to using contingency urine storage bags.

Controllers also managed to bump up the cabin temperature. It was so cold earlier in the flight that the astronauts had to dig into their suitcases for long-sleeved clothes.

The contingency urine bags came in handy later in the day. Mission Control ordered the crew to fill a bunch of the empty bags with water from the capsule’s dispenser. A valve issue arose with the dispenser following liftoff, and NASA wanted plenty of drinking water on hand for the crew in case the problem worsened. The astronauts used straws and syringes to fill the pouches with more than 2 gallons (7 liters) worth before pivoting to the moon.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

In this photo provided by NASA, a view of the Earth from NASA's Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the Artemis II test flight, on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)

In this photo provided by NASA, an Artemis program patch floating in the International Space Station's cupola, on March 30, 2026. (Jessica Meir/NASA via AP)

Spectators view NASA's Artemis II moon rocket launch from the A. Max Brewer Bridge, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Titusville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Spectators view NASA's Artemis II moon rocket launch from the A. Max Brewer Bridge, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Titusville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)