It appears that Aaron Glenn has made a great hire in Jets special teams coach Chris Banjo.
It was a gutsy hire because Banjo only had two years of coaching experience (assistant special teams coach in Denver), and is only 35, but the guy is clearly very good at his job, as you saw on Sunday, with the Jets returning a kick and punt for touchdowns against Cleveland. Kene Nwangwu returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, and shortly thereafter, Isaiah Williams had a 74-yard punt return.
It was the first time in Jets history that a punt and a kick were returned for a TD in the same game.
Speaking of Banjo, when he walked into the locker room after the game, one of the players said to him, “Where’s your game ball?”
Seeing Banjo walking around the locker room interacting with the players, you could tell how much they like their special teams coach.
The affable son of Nigerian immigrants, whose full name is Ayokunmi Christopher Oluwaseun Banjo, only retired from the NFL as a player (he was a safety) in 2022, so he really connects with the sensibilities of current NFL players.
But not only does he connect with players, he’s also very good at the X’s and O’s of special teams, as you saw on these two returns.
And keep in mind that Cleveland special teams coach Bubba Ventrone is considered one of the best in the business, so Banjo winning the chess match against that cat is quite impressive for a rookie special teams coach.
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