The New York Jets needed a stop to open the second half Sunday, trailing the New England Patriots 17-3 at Gillette Stadium. According to NFL insider Ari Meirov, head coach Aaron Glenn told CBS coming out of halftime that his team was getting the ball to start it.
The Patriots had won the opening coin toss and deferred, so the ball was theirs. Glenn’s remark, as Meirov relayed it, set off an argument over whether the coach had lost track of the situation or Meirov had misread him.
Ari Meirov’s Post and the Argument Over Aaron Glenn’s Words
Meirov’s post gave his own read of the remark.
Not everyone in the thread heard it that way. One fan answering the post accused Meirov of “conveniently leaving out where he said they need to force a turnover.” Another fan wrote, “He literally said when we get the ball … not that they get it.”
The Jets did get the ball back soon enough.
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New England’s first drive of the half ended on a failed fourth-down try. The Jets then scored on Geno Smith’s 48-yard touchdown pass to rookie Omar Cooper Jr. with 10:24 left in the third quarter.
Jamien Sherwood recovered a fumble by TreVeyon Henderson with 8:17 left in the quarter. Jason Sanders later kicked a 36-yard field goal to pull New York within 17-13. One Jets fan account gave Glenn the credit for the takeaway: “He spoke the turnover into existence, I don’t see the issue.”
Another fan split the difference: “Telling the defense to get a turnover because you think offense has the ball is peak confidence. Shame the Patriots actually had it.”
Glenn’s Critics Question His Situational Awareness
The larger share of the thread wasn’t offering Glenn the benefit of the doubt. One fan went furthest, writing that Glenn “actually has the lowest situational awareness of any NFL head coach I have ever seen.”
Another fan kept it plainer: “Not knowing who gets the ball to start the half is a rough one.”
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Others went straight to Glenn’s job.
“This should get a head coach fired,” another fan wrote. One fan tied the moment to a team that came into Sunday at 2-3: “no matter how much things improve in the record he just keeps doing things that makes me think he will never be the guy.”
Drake Maye’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry put the Patriots up 23-13 early in the fourth quarter, and Glenn’s postgame news conference is still to come. One fan already had a request for it: “Plz someone ask him about this in the post game conference. Want to see how he spins this.”
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.