Report: Aaron Glenn Told Aaron Rodgers in Order to Stay With the Jets, He'd Have to Quit the Pat McAfee Show

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Despite denials to the contrary, it felt like the moment Aaron Glenn took the job that will always be referred to as "hc of njys" for as long as I'm still drawing breath, he and Aaron Rodgers were heading for a breakup.

It was only a question of how messy it was going to be. Where it would land on the spectrum between the idiotic "We can still be friends" fiction and the much more common, "You can pick up your things been noon and 1pm on Saturday but you have to have a police presence with you" reality. And since the Jets made their franchise quarterback fly across a continent just to make him the world's oldest free agent:

… we pretty have our answer. 

So it was only a matter of time when the two sides in the split would start telling their friends how that final break up fight went down. And that time begins now. Essentially the Jets braintrust forced Rodgers out by giving him a couple of ultimatums they had to know he'd never go along with:

Source - The New York Jets intend to move on from the 41-year-old QB, as new head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey begin to shape the franchise. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, during the franchise's discussions with Rodgers, they were open to him returning, but on Glenn's terms, which meant full involvement in the offseason and, notably, a step back from some of his more divisive weekly media duties. 

“I was told that when they had conversations with Aaron Rodgers about what the future would look like, if you’re going to be part of this team you’re going to attend all of training camp,” Russini said on her Scoop City podcast. “You’re not going to do Pat McAfee interviews anymore. 

“… They had a conversation with him of, 'If you were to stay here, here is how we would want it to be.' So this to me is Aaron Glenn getting control back. …

"I think that, no matter what the Jets were going to say, Aaron Rodgers wanted to move on," she told co-host Chase Daniel. "I think he was smart to talk to the Jets and say, 'Where do we stand, how does this work?' And maybe if they were on the side of convincing him more, this could have changed, but this wasn't the way it was when they traded for him, when it was exciting."

You don't have to be Jets insider or a diehard Rodgers stan to understand the subtext of all this. To know what was really going on in this elaborate mating ritual. You only have to have ever been in a dating relationship. This was a classic case of getting someone to break up with you by demanding they give up something they love. To stop hanging out with some friend you can't stand. Maybe give up some platonic friendship you're threatened by. Maybe quit smoking or drinking. Give up the gambling. Lose weight. Sell the sports car, perhaps. Stop spending time at some funtivity you're not a part of like a softball league or NFL Sundays with the guys.

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Whatever it happens to be, the point is less about the thing itself than control. It's a loyalty test. To put a price on loyalty by saying, "In order to have me, you have to prove you care about me more than your Thursday Night Golf League." A ritual sacrifice to appease the love gods. 

In short, like noted relationship expert George Costanza, Glenn was trying to establish he has hand:

So he went for the preemptive breakup:

Safe in the assumption that the two things Rodgers would never agree on are his mandatory minicamp ayahuasca retreats and going on with McAfee. And Glenn's gamble paid off spectacularly. He got Rodgers to walk out on him, even though he never wanted this relationship in the first place. Brilliant.

Now this is where it's going to get interesting. Glenn and Mougey's team are once again desperate for a franchise QB. While Rodgers is forced to go on the NFL version of SilverSingles to find someone looking for a long term relationship with a guy coming off his worst year who'll turn 42 in midseason. Someone who's high maintenance, takes an inordinate amount of time off, doesn't believe the word "mandatory" applies to him, and who'll insist on being the most outspoken player in the league. Best of luck to both sides. I would've loved to have seen them try and work this out. But watching them try to find other partners is going to be some of the wildest stories of this offseason.