Catch Up with the Jets Legend from Minnesota

Jim Gehman

Expectations and the end result aren't always in line.

A three-year starting cornerback at the University of Minnesota, Kerry Glenn was aware of predictions that his name would be called during the first day of the 1985 NFL Draft. One of the 28 picked in the opening round.

Glenn would be chosen by the Jets. However, it was more than a few rounds later.

"They had me in the middle of the first round and then all of a sudden, I just dropped down to the tenth round. I remember, 262nd," Glenn said. "My reaction was why did I get taken in the tenth round? I just had a lot to prove."

Maybe even more so because he was the fourth defensive back selected by the Jets, following Lester Lyles, Donnie Elder and Rich Miano.

Realizing he didn't have the best odds to make the team, Glenn proved himself early and fortunately for him, in front of the right person defensive coordinator Bud Carson.

"The first week (of training camp), I was coming back from lunch and he said, 'Hey, Kerry. I want you to bring your playbook with you and meet me in my office.' I was only there for one week and I'm like, 'Damn! They're going to cut me,'" Glenn said.

"So I go to his office thinking I'm going to get cut, and he says, 'I want you to watch this film and I want you to play outside technique. You're the only person who's going to do it. If I see you play inside man-to-man technique, I'm going to kick you off the field.' And guess who it was? (Raiders' five-time Pro Bowl and one-time All-Pro cornerback) Lester Hayes!

"Bud's telling me what to do and how to do things. Which was good that I had a person like that to help me. That was the type of coach Bud was. He pushed me, and he pushed me, and he pushed me.

"I mean, you have an option. And that option was either you're going to do this or you're not going to do this. Either you want to play or you're not going to play. I wanted to play."

He not only made the team, the rookie played well. Appearing in all 16 games with six starts at right cornerback, he co-led the Jets with four interceptions, including one in the home-opener off of Buffalo's Vince Ferragamo, which he returned 15 yards for a touchdown and helped beat the Bills, 42-3.

Unfortunately, the following year began with Well, imagine the game of kick the can. Glenn was the can.

During the Week 1 game in Chicago, he sprained his foot and was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the year. And then after playing in eight games the next season, he suffered a knee injury against Cincinnati which required arthroscopic surgery. Glenn would miss the remainder of the 1987 campaign as well as the next one.

"I know people said, 'Oh, he's injury-prone.' What is injury-prone? It's nothing. Things happen and you can't do anything about it," Glenn said.

Because he was making his offseason home in Minnesota at the time, the Jets set it up where Glenn could rehab with the Vikings or at the University of Minnesota. He chose his alma mater.

"Their trainers and everything, they got me back to where I wanted to be," Glenn said. "Every week, they'd send my progress to the Jets. When I came back, I worked hard to get to where I was. It was hard, but I had to get it done."

After spending the 1988 season on the physically unable to perform list while rehabbing his knee, Glenn, who was a Plan B free agent, made his way back to the field in '89. But not with the Jets.

A conversation with Carson, who was now the first-year head coach of the Browns, led him to move on to Cleveland.

"He called me up and said, 'Hey, what are you doing?' I said, 'I'm at home.' And he said, 'Knucklehead, that's not what I'm asking. What are you doing?' I said, 'I'm at home. What do you want me to say?' Glenn laughed. "And then he said, 'I want you to come out to Cleveland with me.' So I went to Cleveland, and the last day of training camp, they cut me.

"After that, I got on a plane and as soon as I got off, my agent called and says, 'You've got to go back to the Jets.' And that's when I came back and completed my fifth year with the Jets."

During that fifth and final season in New York, Glenn played in 14 games and recorded 25 tackles and an interception. He also co-led the team with a pair of forced fumbles.

Becoming a free agent again in 1990, Glenn signed with Miami, where he'd play the nickel and on special teams for three more seasons. True, he was now a division-rival, but he kept those who cheered for him where it began, close to his heart.

"I loved the Jet fans. I mean, you can't say anything bad about Jets fans. We can't say, 'Aw, they're terrible.' The Jet fans, they want a championship. They want a championship in New York," Glenn said.

"They want to have good players, and have players who come out and produce. And it just wasn't happening. I understand the frustration of the fans, but they just have to be a little patient. And then again, you've got to get people that's going to produce. People that want to play. I mean, nowadays there's all these people who want to sit back and go on TikTok and all that stuff."

After leaving the game following the 1992 season, Glenn worked with Bank of America for several years and is now retired and making his home in South Florida.

"My son, Kerry, Jr., has three kids: Braylon, Kassidy, and Avery; and I enjoy just being with them," Glenn said. "It's a lot of fun being with my grandkids."