Jets Confirm Massive Coaching Decision as Aaron Glenn Begins Hunt for New DC

After a horrid 3-14 season, New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn has ignited one of the biggest coaching overhauls in the league. After the team showed no signs of life on either side of the ball, Glenn realized that adjustments were needed and began the process by firing six assistant coaches.

Insider Aaron Wilson was first to report the changes, which touched nearly every corner of the building. On the offensive side, the Jets are moving on from quarterbacks coach Charles London and senior offensive assistant/pass game coordinator Scott Turner.

The defensive staff took just as big a hit. Glenn parted ways with defensive line coach Eric Washington, linebackers coach Aaron Curry, defensive assistant Roosevelt Williams, and defensive assistant and nickel coach Alonso Escalante.

Wilson also noted that at least one other offensive coach, who survived the initial cuts, is expected to be reassigned. So basically, the shuffling isn’t done just yet.

Earlier in the week, The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt reported that the Jets were planning to retain wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson, offensive line coach Steve Heiden, and tight ends coach Jeff Blasko. Even with those holdovers, the departures of London and Turner stand out, given how central both were to an offense that never found its footing.

London oversaw the Jets’ quarterback room in 2025, arguably one of the more forgettable units in franchise history. Between injuries and uneven play, the Jets cycled through Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, and Brady Cook. The production was horrible: 1,259 yards from Fields, 779 from Taylor, and 739 from Cook.

What made London’s situation a bit unusual was his background. Over a 21-year coaching career, 10 seasons were spent working with running backs. Only in the last five years did he transition into a quarterback’s role, with stops in Atlanta, Tennessee, and Seattle.

Given the circumstances, it’s hard to pin the entire collapse of the quarterback room on London alone. The Jets didn’t give him much margin for error in terms of health, depth, or talent.

Turner’s exit, meanwhile, felt more predictable. He was arguably the most seasoned voice on the offensive staff, with multiple stints as an offensive coordinator, including time in Washington and an interim role with the Raiders in 2024. Experience, though, only goes so far. The Jets finished dead last in passing offense, averaging just 163.8 yards per game.

Amid all these defensive firings, the Jets still haven’t found their new defensive coordinator. But that doesn’t mean that Aaron Glenn isn’t actively scouring the market.

Aaron Glenn is still searching for his next coordinator

The New York Jets made their move before the season even reached the finish line, firing defensive coordinator Steve Wilks with three games still left on the schedule. Head coach Aaron Glenn handed the controls to defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Chris Harris, naming him interim coordinator and letting him call the defense over the final three weeks.

None of it came as a shock. The defense had unraveled to the point of becoming a weekly punchline. The Jets finished near the bottom of the league in just about every meaningful category. They were 31st in points allowed (29.6 per game) and 25th in total yards allowed (355.6).

They were also last in forcing turnovers, 31st in sacks, and gave up 139.5 rushing yards per game, which ranked 29th. There wasn’t much to defend, figuratively or otherwise.

Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic shared on “Jets Final Drive” that there had been some hesitation inside the building about cleaning house on the defensive staff. The thinking was that the next defensive coordinator should have a voice in those decisions. The fact that so many changes have now been made suggests that the Jets have finally moved past that wait-and-see phase.

The search itself has been deliberate. The Jets conducted eight virtual Zoom interviews in the first round, then trimmed that list down this week. Those who advanced are set to interview in person at team headquarters for the vacant defensive coordinator job.

The initial candidate pool included Mathieu Araujo, Ephraim Banda, DeMarcus Covington, Daronte Jones, Jim Leonhard, Wink Martindale, Chris Harris, and Jim O’Neil.

According to SNY’s Connor Hughes, the Jets also reached out early to two high-profile defensive coordinator candidates. Both declined to be interested in working with the team and with Glenn. Rosenblatt later added that those weren’t isolated cases. Several other candidates quietly passed on, without even taking an interview.

Whoever ultimately gets the job won’t be the Jets’ first choice, or even their second in some cases. It’s not the footing the organization hoped to have heading into the offseason.

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