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Look, it’s always nice to give people a chance for advancement in their careers.
Take that next step, if you will.
But when it comes to the Jets’ defensive coordinator position, that is probably not the approach they need to take in filling that spot.
The Jets have asked permission to interview Minnesota Vikings defensive back coach Darone Jones for their vacant DC job.
Look, he might be a talented coach, but the Jets need to hire a defensive coordinator who has proven he can be a successful DC on the NFL level.
This isn’t the time for tryouts, and to roll the dice and see if a position coach can leap up to coordinator.
Now Jones has had some DC jobs, but not on the NFL level. He was hired as DC at LSU in 2021, but was not retained the next season.
As much as Aaron Glenn likes to give people a chance to take the next step, just like he did going from secondary coach to DC to head coach, at this particular time, it’s probably not the way for him to go.
Because let’s be honest, if the Jets have a season next year, like they did this year, Glenn might not make it to Year 3.
So he needs to go out and hire somebody who has proven they can thrive on the NFL level, running a defense.
Like a year ago, when new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson hired Dennis Allen to be his DC, who was not only a two-time NFL head coach, but a successful defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints.
Everybody in the NFL knows that Allen can run an NFL defense on a high level. That is the kind of guy Glenn needs to get.
This is no time for a talent show, where you are giving a position coach a tryout.
That is why somebody like former Michigan and long-time NFL DC Wink Martingdale would make sense.
Somebody like that.
Now, some would argue that Glenn tried to do that last year when he hired Steve Wilks.
Not the same.
Wilks was fired after one year as DC in San Francisco by Kyle Shanahan, who actually had to call timeout in a Super Bowl because he couldn’t believe a defensive play call that was about to be sent in.
Wilks, a good man with great character, had two NFL DC jobs, and they both ended after one year, one in Cleveland and the other in San Francisco.
He’s a very good secondary coach. That is his wheelhouse, and there is nothing wrong with that. That is a good job in the football world if you can get it in college or the NFL.
He’s not a good fit in the NFL DC role.
So, the hiring of Wilks is not similar to what they need to do now.
If Miami Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver doesn’t get an NFL head coaching job, he should be a consideration.
Same with former Arizona Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon, who made his bones as a DC before landing in the desert.
Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham is another guy to consider.
There are others.
But the point is, Glenn needs to get somebody who is, what I like to call, “settle science” as a DC, not a roll-the-dice position coach promotion.
The Jets’ defense was an unmitigated disaster this past season.
They need someone to run their defense who is going to be more disciplined and organized approach.
There were too many blown coverages this year.
Now, in slight defense of Wilks and interim DC Chris Harris, some of the issues were personnel-related.
Their linebackers were consistently out of position in coverage, including the two veteran starters, and the rookie fifth-round pick. It looked like there were coverage instinct issues with all of them.
Wilks, Harris, or whoever can’t teach instincts.
So they need some new players, but they also need a veteran defensive coordinator who has already proven he can run an NFL defense on a high level.
January 9, 2026
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