Aaron Glenn told everyone to put their seat belts on during his introductory news conference. Now, we are beginning to find out who is driving the Jets bus with him.
The Jets agreed to a deal with Steve Wilks as their new defensive coordinator and Chris Banjo as their special teams coordinator, sources confirmed.
Wilks, the former head coach with the Cardinals, had been viewed as the favorite to land the job since Glenn was hired.
Banjo has been the assistant special teams coach for the Broncos for the past two years.
Wilks, 55, is a veteran coach who has served as a defensive coordinator for the Panthers, Browns and 49ers.
He spent one season as the Cardinals head coach in 2018 and also served as interim coach in Carolina in 2022.
Wilks last worked as the 49ers defensive coordinator in 2023 but was fired after one season.
He was out of the league last year. In five seasons as a coordinator or head coach, Wilks only had a top 10 defense in yards allowed or points once, with the 49ers in 2023, when they were top 10 in both.
Glenn said Monday that he won’t call the defensive plays, so Wilks is a key hire. Wilks can also help Glenn along as a new head coach with his experience in the job.
Banjo, 34, had a 10-year playing career in the NFL and overlapped with Glenn with the Saints from 2016-18, when Glenn was the defensive backs coach.
The Jets have not had to hire a special teams coordinator since 2016, when Brant Boyer took the job.
Wilks and Banjo are the first big hires by Glenn.
The new Jets coach is working on assembling his coaching staff alongside new general manager Darren Mougey. The two are busy at work trying to find the assistant coaches who will reshape the Jets under Glenn.
Glenn is hiring nearly a completely new staff. Many of the Jets coaches under Robert Saleh have landed other jobs already or been told they won’t be back.
Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson and passing game coordinator Todd Downing are the only high-level members of Saleh’s staff who might return, according to sources.
Glenn said several times on Monday that the key to changing the culture would be about the people hired to work for the Jets.
“I can stand in front of a group of men and I can give as many rah-rah speeches as I can, but culture is about people and getting the right people in the building,” Glenn said. “I saw that firsthand with what Bill Parcells did and that’s why the turnaround was so fast.”
Offensive coordinator feels like the most important hire for Glenn, and Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Ergstrand has emerged as the favorite to get the job, according to sources.
Ergstrand, 42, was seen as a possible replacement for Ben Johnson as offensive coordinator with the Lions, but Detroit hired former Jets offensive coordinator John Morton instead.
Ergstrand worked with Glenn in Detroit since 2021. Prior to that, he had worked under Jim Harbaugh in college.
It seems like the chances of the Jets hiring Rams tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Nick Caley are fading.
He was the hot name when Glenn initially got the job, but he has interviewed with the Buccaneers and Texans for their offensive coordinator jobs, but not the Jets yet.
The Jets hired Lions tight ends coach Steve Heiden to be their new offensive line coach, according to The NFL Network.
Heiden played tight end for 11 seasons in the NFL for the Chargers and Browns. He has coached the tight ends in Detroit for the past two years.
Heiden has never been an offensive line coach, but he was the assistant offensive line coach in 2018 for the Cardinals.
The NFL Network also reported the Jets have requested to interview Commanders assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough for the quarterbacks coach job.
The Jets also interviewed former Titans defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Chris Harris for the defensive coordinator job.
A source indicated that Harris could be in line to be the defensive backs coach under Wilks.
