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NEW YORK -- In his first public comments regarding the NFL's only winless team, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson expressed a level of optimism Tuesday that few have for his team. Johnson, speaking at the start of NFL league meetings, said he sees good defensive and special teams efforts from the 0-7 Jets under first-time and first-year coach Aaron Glenn. "I see what you see, but I see more hope than you do," Johnson said, speaking to a gaggle of reporters. "You can't win with hope, but it helps." A former first-round pick by the Jets in 1994, Glenn has been tasked with ending the longest active playoff drought in the NFL. Barring the biggest turnaround in league history, that won't happen in 2025. Glenn is the first coach in Jets history to begin 0-7, and he's the first first-year coach to begin 0-7 in the NFL in six years. Johnson said he hugs Glenn every day and tells him to "keep the faith." Jets sources have indicated to CBS Sports in recent weeks that any firing of Glenn in Year 1 is incredibly unlikely, if not impossible. Though Johnson was not specifically asked to commit to Glenn beyond 2025, his comments made clear he has great belief in his coach despite the troubling start. "I do believe in Aaron," Johnson said. "If I were a player I'd respond to him, because he's the real deal." Johnson's faith did not extend to quarterback Justin Fields, though. The Jets signed Fields to a two-year deal in the offseason, but Fields has played like one of the worst starters in the league this season. "If we could complete a pass, it would look good," Johnson said of his team. Though Fields has completed nearly 64% of passes and has yet to throw an interception, the quarterback's overly conservative play has led to 22 sacks (second-most in the league) and an expected-points-added-per-dropback of negative 0.09, tied for 28th in the league. Two weeks to go: What league sources are hearing on Jets, Saints, Raiders and more before NFL trade deadline Jonathan Jones "It's hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that … he has the ability but something is just not [jibing,]" Johnson said. "But if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that you're going to see similar results if you go across the league, you have to play consistently at that position and that's what we're going to try to do for the remainder of the season." Fields's negative EPA/dropback is tied with Bryce Young, who has quarterbacked the Panthers to a 4-3 record. Geno Smith, Joe Flacco and Cam Ward are the only regular starters with a worse EPA/dropback. The Jets are at a quarterback crossroads. Glenn declined to commit to Fields as the starter after Sunday's 13-6 home loss to Carolina, and on Monday the coach said he's still evaluating his options while studying how other teams have handled QB switches. Typically when coaches don't commit to the starter on Monday, that indicates a change would be coming. Veteran Tyrod Taylor is waiting in the wings should Glenn pull the trigger and make the change, which more than one source has believed is likely. Johnson said he's staying out of that, leaving the football matters to the football people he hired. The Jets travel to Cincinnati in Week 8 to face the Bengals before a Week 9 bye. Teams have poked around the Jets for a potential sale of assets, but so far Gang Green hasn't made a deal. League sources believe RB Breece Hall and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson are the top tradable assets for the Jets. One source said the Jets have been "stubborn" with their asking prices. Two weeks remain before the NFL trade deadline. At these same meetings last year, Johnson took a victory lap after helping engineer a trade with the Raiders for receiver Davante Adams. The deal was supposed to turn around the fortunes of a team that was 2-4 at the time. The Jets went on to win three more games the entire year and fire the coach and GM in the process. Now, Johnson is just hoping for one victory.
