Stephen A. laughs at Dan Orlovsky’s Jets take (1:37)
Stephen A. Smith calls out Dan Orlovsky for his list of what it will take for Justin Fields to lead the Jets to the playoffs. (1:37)
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Rich CiminiAug 20, 2025, 05:24 PM ET
- Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets held a clandestine practice Sunday. There were no media present. There were no assistant coaches, either. It was just coach Aaron Glenn and the players.
The players conducted their own drills and called their own plays. Quarterback Justin Fields ran the offense, middle linebacker Jamien Sherwood ran the defense.
Word of the practice leaked Wednesday, with a handful of veterans saying they’d never been involved in a player-driven practice. Technically, it was a walk-through, not a practice, according to the team, but players weren’t caught up in the semantics as they discussed its uniqueness.
“It was personally different for me because I’ve never experienced that — having no coaches out there,” said cornerback Brandon Stephens, who played four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. “It was great for us to lead the groups by ourselves.”
Center Josh Myers, who signed with the Jets after four seasons with the Green Bay Packers, said: “That was something that was new to me. For all intents and purposes, it felt like a practice, just player-led.”
Glenn might have pulled a page from the handbook of his mentor, Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. While coaching the Jets in the late 1990s, an angry Parcells once stormed off the field with his coaches, leaving the players to themselves — a motivational ploy, no doubt. Glenn was a member of that team.
Glenn wasn’t happy with the Jets’ performance in Saturday night’s 31-12 loss to the New York Giants, though it sounds as if the day-after practice — er, walk-through — had been planned ahead of time. There was a purpose behind it.
“[Glenn] said this is something he envisions his team being, a player-driven team,” said safety Andre Cisco, who played four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Nickelback Michael Carter II said, “The great teams are the player-led teams. … We got a chance to go out and prove it for the first time.”
Initially, the practice was on the media schedule, but it was removed about a week beforehand. By rule, training camp practices must be open to the media, but walk-throughs can be closed. Glenn made no mention of it Tuesday, his only media availability since Saturday’s game.
The Jets apparently preferred to keep it under wraps, but wide receiver Garrett Wilson mentioned it Tuesday in an interview with social media influencer Megan Patricia. Wilson said they “went at it for about an hour” on the practice field.
Players said they enjoyed the experience, calling it an effective way for them to strategize on their own, adapt to game circumstances and create a sense of ownership. They worked on specific situations, including down and distance.
“It was like a regular day,” Cisco said. “Just no coaches.”
