TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn is 0-3, just like his two most recent predecessors were in their first season, but he insisted this isn't a rerun of so many lost years.
Glenn was defiant Sunday after the Jets' 29-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium, claiming their fourth-quarter comeback and almost-victory illustrated that his team is made of the right stuff.
In doing so, Glenn invoked the expression that has pained the Jets' fan base for decades, one that former coaches avoided because they didn't want to give it life.
"We're not the same team as, like everyone says, [the] 'same old Jets,'" Glenn said. "These guys are going to fight no matter what the situation is. There's no give-up to them.
"I hate that term, and I really don't know what that term means, but I know this: They're not the 'same old Jets.' All right?"
"We're not the same team as, like everyone says, [the] 'same old Jets.' These guys are going to fight no matter what the situation is. There's no give-up to them." Jets coach Aaron Glenn
Glenn, who played cornerback for the Jets from 1994 to 2001, knows the franchise's star-crossed history better than most -- more than a half-century from its only Super Bowl appearance. Instead of running from it, he lobbied for the head-coaching vacancy because he wanted to be the one to flip the franchise's fortunes.
And now he's in the middle of the adversity, trying to change a losing culture. The Jets have nine straight losing seasons and a 14-year playoff drought, the longest active streak in the NFL.
Glenn came so close to his first victory, as the Jets rallied from a 17-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter and took a 27-26 lead on Will McDonald's blocked field goal and 50-yard return for a touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the game.
The cameras caught Glenn doing a dance on the sideline, celebrating the stunning turn, but the Jets let Baker Mayfield march 48 yards in seven plays. Chase McLaughlin kicked the game-winning field goal from 36 yards as time expired, destroying the Jets' improbable comeback.
This was the Jets' fifth loss since the start of last season when leading in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter -- the most in the NFL and two more than any other team. For the second time in three games, they lost on a field goal in the final two minutes.
"There are a lot of games to play, and you can build on this," Glenn said. "The one thing I don't do, which I understand the New York media tries to do, is the negative parts of it. I'm not going to be that way. I'm going to let you guys deal with that. We're going to look at the things that we did well; we're going to continue to push forward because we're going to improve.
"We're going to make sure we get over that hump. I do know that."
The Jets were dreadful for three quarters, down 23-6. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, starting for the injured Justin Fields (concussion), committed two turnovers -- a strip sack and an interception returned for a touchdown. It looked as if Glenn was going to get blown out by one of his mentors, Todd Bowles, a former Jets coach.
But the Jets went up tempo, and Taylor (26-for-36, 197 yards) threw touchdowns to Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. Then McDonald scored on the blocked field goal, something the Jets hadn't done since 1997 when Glenn's close friend and teammate, Ray Mickens, did it against the Oakland Raiders.
This time, it wasn't enough.
"We didn't play worth a damn in that first quarter, the first half, so what are you going to do about it?" said Wilson, who made 10 catches for 84 yards. "You can't go out and put an hour's worth of bad film. We had to step it up, man. But there was really no excuse not to look better in that second half once we got that deficit that we shouldn't have been in in the first place."
The Jets have a pair of two-point losses, fueling Glenn and the locker room with hope. They face the winless Miami Dolphins (0-3) next Monday night.
"On the outside of this locker room -- fans, analysts, whoever -- if you're not in the building, you're going to see an 0-3 team because that's what we put on tape," linebacker Jamien Sherwood said. "Obviously, you're right for thinking that, but to the men in this room, no, we're not an 0-3 team."
Wilson took a pragmatic approach.
"We're 0-3," he said, "and it's an uphill battle."