On January 31, the Jets hired Eric Washington as their defensive line coach.
After coaching in college for many years, Washington has lorded over NFL defensive lines since 2010 with stops in Chicago, Buffalo and Carolina.
Every assistant new Jets coach Aaron Glenn hires is important, but this one has to be near the top of the list.
The Jets need somebody to come in and improve how their defensive line plays the run.
It’s been a problem for the last couple of years, with the last game of the year being illustrative of the issue.
While the Jets beat Miami in their season finale, Dolphins RB De’Von Achane gashed the Jets for 121 yards on the ground.
While it’s never all on the defensive line when a team struggles against the run, the guys up front are obviously a big part of run defense.
A perfect example of the Jets issues up front against the run was on Achane’s 15-yard TD in the fourth quarter. The defensive line got dominated – across the board – all four guys! I’m not even going to name names. Two guys shot too far upfield and the other two guys got mauled by linemen, and it was an easy TD for Achane, who went through a gaping hole up the middle.
In the first quarter, Achane had a 61-yard run up the middle. The two defensive tackles got manhandled on this play.
Look, I want to make something clear, I’m not looking to smear Aaron Whitecotton who is a solid coach, and quickly landed a job with the Dallas Cowboys when he hit the open market.
And you could argue the run defense issues upfront were scheme and personnel-related, and he didn’t put in the scheme and he didn’t pick the personnel.
But if Aaron Glenn is going to turn around the Jets, one thing they must do is play better run defense. It’s hard to win in the NFL if you can’t stop the run.
So one of his most important hires is Washington, who has got to get the guys up front to become more stout against the run.
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