Mountaineers in the Pros
Jets HC Aaron Glenn Has High Expectations for Geno Smith
If nothing else, Geno Smith clearly has the full endorsement of his new head coach as he embarks on his second stint with the New York Jets.
Glenn truly believes Smith’s lofty goal of winning a championship before he retires is possible.
“He’s the guy that’s going to lead us to the promised land,” said Glenn while expressing confidence in his new quarterback to reporters like Rich Cimini of ESPN at the NFL meetings on Tuesday.
Days after being traded by the Raiders to the Jets, Smith discussed his mindset about being back with the franchise that drafted him and his lofty expectations about what he hopes to achieve before ending his career.
“When I was drafted here, my goal was to play my entire career for the Jets and one day retire as a Jet,” Smith told reporters. including Al Iannazzone of Newsday, about his career coming full circle.
“Just to come back now and to be a part of this organization again, the organization that gave me a chance coming out of West Virginia, and really, really believed in me. Although it didn’t go exactly as planned, somehow, someway, we got back here, and I’m eager to kind of make things right if I can.”
The Raiders sent Smith and a 2026 7th-round pick to the New York in exchange for a 2026 6th-round pick. Smith will try to revitalize his career as he brings his NFL career full circle.
He dreams of ending his career in a way that would go down as one of the greatest comeback stories in NFL history.
“We want to go out there and give our fans something to be proud of,” expressed Smith. “Put a great product on field, be competitive, not just competitive, but win a lot of games, and also put ourselves in position to hoist that Lombardi at the end of the season. I know our fan base has been longing for that. If I can be the guy to get that done, that’s what I want to do.”
On March 6, reports began to circulate that the Raiders would release Smith unless they could work out a trade to send him elsewhere.
After resurrecting his career in Seattle with the Seahawks, a rough 2024 season led to a trade to Las Vegas and then an even rougher 2025 with the Raiders has him on the move again.
In addition to the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl with Sam Darnold, the Raiders were 2-13 with Smith under center last season. Smith threw for 3,025 yards while competing 67.4% of his passes, but only threw two more touchdowns to interceptions – 19 to 17.
Before being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Jets, Smith racked up 11,662 passing yards and 98 touchdowns across three years as the starting quarterback for WVU, including 42 passing touchdowns to just six interceptions during his senior year. He finished his career near the top of most statistical passing categories for the program, leading the Mountaineers to a trio of bowl games and an Orange Bowl win.
Smith eventually washed out of New York after two seasons as the starter, playing sparsely until 2022 when he earned the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award. From there, he caught on with the Seattle Seahawks and enjoyed a career renaissance until being traded to the Raiders ahead of the 2025 season.
Find more coverage of Geno Smith at WV Sports Now.
