The New York Jets coaching staff under new head coach Aaron Glenn is in the process of being assembled. The team has reportedly locked down its next defensive coordinator on Wednesday.
According to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Jets have agreed to terms with former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks to become the team's new defensive coordinator. It's a crucial hire after Glenn made clear he did not intend to call plays for the defense in 2025.
Wilks, who sat out the 2024 season, has held coaching positions in the NFL since '05, when he was the secondary coach in Washington. He's served in various roles with multiple teams. From 2006 to '08, he was the defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears. He joined the San Diego Chargers in the same role from 2009 to '11 and was the Carolina Panthers' DBs coach in '12, where he was later named assistant head coach from 2015 to '17.
Wilks was hired as the Cardinals head coach in 2018, but was let go after just one season. He then joined the Cleveland Browns as their defensive coordinator in '19. In 2021, he moved to the college ranks where he was the DC for Missouri. He was named interim head coach of the Panthers in 2022, and was the San Francisco 49ers DC in '23.
Now, he's back in the mix with the Jets, where he'll look to reinvigorate a defensive unit that underperformed in 2024. He'll have plenty of talent at his disposal in New York as he commandeers a defense consisting of standouts such as Sauce Gardner, Quincy and Quinnen Williams, Will McDonald and C.J. Mosley, among others.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jets Hire Former Cardinals Head Coach Steve Wilks as New Defensive Coordinator.
