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Legendary WFAN sports talk host Mike Francesa, who is now semi-retired and hosts a podcast for the gambling site BetRivers, had a blockbuster story about the Jets this week.
“But (Aaron) Glenn was clearly… the voice and the power of the whole thing, and you can see now, if you’re paying attention, that has shifted dramatically there,” Francesa said. “(Darren) Mougey’s now in charge and clearly, my understanding is Woody made a decision that Mougey’s in charge.”
Is this true?
As we sit here right now, I’m going to be honest – I have no idea. The story just broke, I need to do some digging.
But the Jets smartly used a surrogate in the media to shoot down this report.
“There has been zero change to the Jets organizational power structure this offseason, according to sources,” tweeted SNY’s Connor Hughes, who is dominating the beat with a non-stop flow of scoops about the team. “The team is operating exactly as they have been. Reports to the contrary are factually incorrect.”
If you have noticed, nobody in the on-the-beat reporting in the mainstream media is touching this story.
The closest thing to a media entity that is credentialed by the team acknowledging Francesa’s scoop was NJ.com (formerly the Newark Star-Ledger). That had a short story on it, but not by the beat writer. In fact, there was no byline on their brief passage about what Francesa said.
You get the sense the beat isn’t going to touch this one. They are going to keep their distance from it.
It would not be good for their relationship with Aaron Glenn and others, whom they have to deal with daily during the season.
So, it’s best to just leave it alone.
What’s my take on this?
I think that truth lies somewhere in the middle. If there is a power shift, it’s likely slight, not massive.
And once again, this isn’t a scoop – I’m just trying to read the tea leaves and give you my take.
I’m not going to claim to have “multiple sources” on this story, like some reporters claim to have on stories, all the time.
I’m telling you, it’s hard enough to get one source; be wary of people who are constantly saying “according to multiple sources” in their stories.
And Francesa’s credit, he claimed to have only one source. He was pretty upfront about that.
“Now my understanding also is… while these guys have put up a very good front, they’re not getting along as well as everybody thinks,” Francesa said. “(That’s) what I’m hearing, which I’m sure they’ll deny, but that’s what I’m hearing. And I’m hearing it from a terrific source.”
This part of the story is kind of irrelevant. GMs and coaches are always butting heads, in all sports. This is common. Bill Parcells and George Young often butted heads when they were lording over those great Giants teams of the 1990s.
Creative conflict is often a good thing.
So I really don’t pay much mind to “they’re not getting along as well as everybody thinks.” Actually, I never assumed they were getting along well. I have no idea how they get along. You’ve seen Glenn in press conferences. Do you think it’s always a walk on the beach getting along with him? He’s one tough cookie. I’m not a “walk on the beach” to get along with all the time. That applies to many of us.
But as for the overarching theme of Francesa’s comments, that there has been a power shift, I think there probably has been a slight one, but not to the degree that is being presented here.
After Glenn’s rough first year with the Jets, rife with dubious coaching and personnel decisions, there may be a little more balanced power between Glenn and Mougey.
A coach who lorded over what we saw last year could lose a little juice with the owner. It’s only natural.
When Glenn came in, armed with a massive contract, probably around $10-11 million a year, you got the sense he came in with the kind of power that Bill Belichick had during New England’s great run – where he was like a football czar, with the final say on everything in the football operation.
So perhaps now, the Jets are just back to what we have seen most of the time during Johnson’s ownership: the head coach coaches the team, the GM handles the roster, and they both report equally to the owner.
Because honestly, we can talk about who has more power, Glenn or Mougey, but the bottom line, the buck stops with Woody Johnson.
You saw that where Johnson reportedly put the kibosh on Glenn’s desire to hire Wink Martingdale, and forced him to call the defense himself.
And all these financial decisions related to contracts, all these matters likely need to get approved by Woody, Ira and Hymie, so it’s not like, if Mougey does have a little more juice than when he arrived, that he’s now the football czar. Far from it, most things still need to be run up the flagpole, okayed by the politburo – Woody, Ira, and Hymie.
So in my opinion, the Jets’ corporate structure remains the same – the GM and head coach both report to the owner. Maybe Mougey has more sway with the owner than when he first entered the building, but it’s not like he’s taken over the football operation.
Glenn/Mougey still both report to Johnson.
March 18, 2026
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