The New York Jets opened Phase One of the offseason program this week, the first baby step in new coach Aaron Glenn's quest to change the culture at Florham Park.
At this stage of the game, Glenn isn't worried about talking about wins and losses, postseason bids or Lombardi Trophies. Like any good contractor at the start of a build, his only goal in the coming weeks is laying a foundation.
"To me, it's a process, and I've talked to our staff about this," Glenn said last week, via the New York Post. "I'm not here to talk about the playoffs. I'm not here to talk about the Super Bowl when the players first get in. To me, it's the process of actually making it that point. The two things I want to make sure we do first and foremost is establish the culture that we've been talking about and try to create a building environment."
New coaches often talk about changing the culture. Glenn lived it in Detroit when he helped Dan Campbell raise a perennial doormat into an entertaining contender. His experience with the Lions provides context for how the Jets can get the plane headed in the right direction after years of sputtering.
"Culture's about people," Glenn said. "As we continue to get the right people in the building, the culture's going to change. That's something I learned a long time ago. Me sitting up there giving a rah-rah speech that has nothing to do with culture. Culture is about the people that we bring in the building. I'm not just talking about players. I'm talking about coaches, too. I'm talking about support staff, too. We're trying to do a really good job of bringing the right people in the building and as we do that the culture will eventually change."
This week, when Glenn addresses his veterans for the first time, he plans to focus on the task of this first step in the process. There is no skipping over or ignoring the importance of each stage of the process.
"Understand what Phase One [of the offseason program] is really about," Glenn said. "We're trying to get bigger, faster, stronger, more explosive. That's the only thing I want the players worrying about at that point. We have a lot of time for scheme. We have a lot of time to talk about Super Bowls and playoffs, but right now building a culture and building an environment in that building is the most important thing right now to me."
Culture first. Scheme and expectations later.
Without the foundation, the rest will crumble in the storm of an NFL season.
