The Jets and Giants open their 2026 NFL schedule on Sunday. The Jets will be on the road to play the Tennessee Titans and the Giants will host the Dallas Cowboys in the league’s weekly Sunday night standalone nationally televised game (8:20 p.m., NBC).
In the NFL, a rapid turnaround, while not the norm, is achievable. The more difficult undertaking is sustaining the rise to playoff contender year-over-year. The Jets and Giants are both focused on that pursuit. They have floundered near the bottom of the league’s standings for much of the past two decades: The Jets haven’t made the playoffs in the past 15 seasons and the Giants have only been in the postseason three times over the same span.
Last season, the Jets were 3-14 and the Giants 4-13. This season will be Aaron Glenn’s second as the Jets’ head coach and John Harbaugh’s first with the Giants. Although the Jets and Giants share a building (MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.), the two coaches are in distinctly different places.
This is a critically defining year for Glenn. The Jets are his first head coaching job. He is a former 1994 first-round pick of the franchise and rejoined them in January of last year after four seasons as defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
It’s a logical assumption that the Jets have to show marked improvement, both in total wins and demonstrable development of their young core, which includes fifth-year wide receiver Garrett Wilson and this year’s group of high draft picks: edge rusher David Bailey, tight end Kenyon Sadiq, and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., all first-round selections, and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, a second-round pick. Both measures will substantially determine whether team owner Robert “Woody” Johnson retains the 54-year-old Glenn to begin the 2027 season.
In contrast, Harbaugh’s job security is more firm. He is tracking a potential Pro Football Hall of Fame coach. A successful tenure with the Giants — reaching and/or winning a Super Bowl — would be like writing his name on a Hall of Fame ballot with a Sharpie.
The 63-year-old Harbaugh guided the Baltimore Ravens for 18 seasons, winning the Super Bowl in 2012. His 193 wins rank 12th all-time among head coaches. Of those, 13 were attained in the playoffs. Harbaugh’s four AFC Championships are the dichotomy.
Getting to four is laudable. Losing three evoked criticism among some Ravens fans and pundits. The long relationship between Harbaugh and the Ravens ended last January two days after the Ravens suffered a crushing 26-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their scornful AFC North division rival, when kicker Tyler Loop missed a potential game-winning field goal as time expired.
The winner goes to the playoffs; loser-go-home game consummated the separation. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti fired Harbaugh less than 48 hours later.
The Giants hope it was a gift to them.
