NEW YORK — The Jets wrapped up mandatory minicamp on Thursday afternoon, almost five months after Aaron Glenn became the team’s new coach.

Glenn had a message for the players during his team meeting before their six-week sabbatical.

“What I want to stress to the players, throughout this whole deal from Phase 1 all the way to Phase 3, they started creating some habits,” Glenn said. “And as you leave the building, I don’t want those habits to go away. I want them to continue to think about those habits.

“I’m looking forward to training camp. I hate that things are ending now and we gotta take this month off, but I understand it. But guns blazing once we get back here and go to training camp.”

Since Jets owner Woody Johnson hired him in January, Glenn has said all the right things. He has discussed his plan several times to change the culture of an organization that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010.

During practices, Glenn has created a different vibe around the Jets. He doesn’t just watch one position group or one side of the ball, unlike some coaches. Glenn is the true CEO of the Jets organization. He observes every position group and keeps a close eye on all aspects of the team.

Throughout the Jets’ offseason program, players have said all the right things and have bought into Glenn’s culture. They had around 91% of players attend the Jets’ entire offseason program, according to Glenn.

“It is all about just buying in,” Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood said. “Just meeting Coach Glenn this offseason, the first time we got a chance to speak to each other, I felt like we hit it off. The connection was there.

“Same thing with our new linebackers coach [Aaron Curry], our new defensive coordinator [Steve Wilks] and all the other coaches. It is just about buying in and you can’t do that unless you get everyone around you to change a culture and to create a standard everybody has to agree with.”

Now, it’s time to turn the page to training camp, where we will begin to learn how well the Jets could potentially perform on the field.

The Jets’ roster has undergone significant changes since the end of last season. The average age of the free agents they signed during the offseason is 26.6 years old.

With the youth movement at Florham Park, it is fair to wonder if the Jets will be a better team than last season, when they went 5-12. But that will likely be determined by the way quarterback Justin Fields performs.

Gang Green signed Fields, 26, to a two-year, $40 million contract because they believe his trajectory is headed upwards. He was 4-2 during six starts with the Steelers last season and completed a career-high 65.8% of his passes.

Fields hasn’t lived up to expectations after being selected 11th overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL draft. However, he has shown signs that Fields could be poised for his best season yet.

Throughout organized team activities, Fields’ confidence in offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand’s system continued to grow. He possibly had his best practice of the spring on Tuesday.

Fields led the offense down the field before they had to settle for two field goals. He also threw a 50-yard pass to Garrett Wilson, which helped set up his six-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds.

Glenn previously said he wants Fields to play quarterback, rather than just being known for his dynamic running ability. However, Fields also has accuracy issues at times, particularly when holding onto the ball too long and overthrowing his receivers.

“The biggest thing is for us, we’re just taking it day-by-day, trying to get better each and every day,” Fields said. “I definitely feel like the offense has been doing that, especially these past couple of weeks.

“Really getting better, like I said, it’s a new offense, everybody is trying to get a hold of it, but these past couple weeks, like I said earlier, I think the guys have really gotten a grasp on that and we’ve really been improving for sure.”

In addition to Fields and their offense, the Jets’ defense will also play an integral role in their success. The Jets return eight starters from a defense that finished in the top five in yards allowed each of the last three seasons. However, last year, the unit suffered a setback following the firing of coach Robert Saleh.

During the final 12 weeks of the 2024 season, the Jets ranked 28th in points (26.6) and 18th in yards allowed per game (337.9). Before Saleh’s firing, the Jets were fifth in points (17) and second in yards allowed per game (255.8).

A significant portion of the Jets’ defensive success may depend on the play of cornerback Brandon Stephens and the secondary. He signed a three-year, $36 million contract in March. Stephens will replace D.J. Reed, who signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Detroit Lions during the offseason.

Last season, Stephens allowed the fifth-most receptions (65) in the NFL, and opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 107.4 when he was in coverage. He also allowed the most targets (96) in the league and the second-most yards (806).

Pro Football Focus gave Stephens a 55.8 grade, and he was ranked 155th out of 223 cornerbacks after he finished with 70 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 10 pass deflections in 2024.

“B-Steve [Stephens] has played at a high level,” Jets cornerback Michael Carter II said. “He knows what it takes to win, obviously they did every year in Baltimore.

“He’s bringing that to us, just that mindset, the work ethic. He’s a great corner [who] can play man, can play zone, can do all those things. There’s nothing stopping us from being the best in the league.”

The next test for the Jets will be training camp, which will begin on July 22 when players report. They will hold their first practice the following day to begin preparations for the preseason, their Week 1 matchup against the Steelers and former quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” in April, Rodgers was critical of how the Jets handled his release. Some Jets fans wanted Glenn to run it back with Rodgers and the veteran team they already had in place. But like any new regime, Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey wanted to bring in the players they best saw fit within their organization.

The Jets have a demanding schedule to begin the season. They will play four teams that made the playoffs last season in their first six games.

Glenn and Jets have said all the right things during the offseason about their culture change and players buying in. However, the NFL is a results-driven business, and Glenn and the Jets need a Week 1 victory to maintain the positive momentum they’ve built in the spring.

“We have 17 really good games that we have to play, and I’m looking forward to playing every one of them,” Glenn said when asked about facing Rodgers. “This is the NFL, and to me, every game there is a lot of noise because they’re so critical as far as wins and losses.

“We want to try to accumulate as many wins as we can, and I don’t care who that opponent is. If it’s a high school team, we want to beat them. If it’s a college team, we want to beat them. It just so happened to be Pittsburgh, and listen, they have a lot of good players on that team. They have a f------ good coach, who I’m fond of, but our players are going to be ready to play every game, and I know that for a fact.”

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