PHOENIX — Aaron Glenn has some lofty expectations for Geno Smith.
The Jets coach spoke at the NFL’s annual meeting on Tuesday and expressed a lot of confidence in his new starting quarterback.
“I just feel like he’s the guy that’s going to lead us to the promised land,” Glenn said.
What the promised land is can be open to interpretation, but it seems like big talk for a coach coming off a 3-14 season and a quarterback who led the NFL with 17 interceptions last season while with the Raiders.
Glenn said he believes the Jets can help Smith be more successful than he was last year in Las Vegas because of what they have on offense. Glenn pointed to their offensive line, their running game and star receiver Garrett Wilson as elements that can help Smith be successful.
“There’s something about a quarterback with a chip on his shoulder,” Glenn said. “He’s proven a lot in this league, especially when you take the time when he was in Seattle. He fits exactly what we’re trying to do. … I think he’s a perfect guy to do exactly what we’re going to do, especially when we can run the ball the way that we can run it. Now, be able to add some play action. I think he’s perfect for that.”
Smith had strong seasons with the Seahawks in 2022 and ’23 but has regressed statistically since then. Last year with the Raiders, he had 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He was sacked a league-high 55 times behind a bad Raiders offensive line.
“I know he had his struggles and I think a lot of quarterbacks, they have their struggles,” Glenn said. “If you look at over the last five years the guys who have thrown the most interceptions, I mean the top guys are up there. I do know this. He understands exactly what happened last year. I don’t want to get too far into that because I wasn’t there, obviously, with the Raiders. There’s some things that he knows he can play and he has he’s at fault from some of those but there’s some things that he knows he’s going to get better at and I look forward to him doing that.”