The New York Jets fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday.
The Jets’ defense has the fewest takeaways in the league through 15 weeks of the 2025 season.
New York’s defense ranks near the bottom of the league in points allowed and sacks.
The New York Jets fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday after the unit he led produced the fewest takeaways in the entire NFL through 15 weeks of the 2025 season.
New York (3-11) has not recorded an interception this year and has just three fumble recoveries. The Jets rank 30th in points allowed per game (28.4), ahead of only the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. Their 22 sacks is tied for the second-lowest total in the league.
Under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn, a former NFL defensive back who coached on that side of the ball, Wilks had to deal with the franchise trading away defensive lineman Quinnen Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner at the deadline.
‘I thought it was time to make a change,’ Glenn said Monday. ‘I’m going to make the decision that’s best for this organization at all times.
‘I want to see consistent improvement. … I want to see the culture of this football team come together.’
Chris Harris will take over as the interim defensive coordinator, Glenn said.
Wilks was the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator during the 2023 season, when the team made it to Super Bowl 58. He was the Carolina Panthers’ interim coach in 2022.
After a 48-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Wilks was sure to tell reporters that the defensive system in place belonged to him and was not necessarily Glenn’s own. The Jets surrendered 34 points the week prior to the Miami Dolphins.
Several defensive players, including linebacker Quincy Williams and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, declined to talk to reporters after the blowout defeat, in which Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence accounted for six touchdowns.
‘Monday through Saturday, that’s where our coaches come in,’ linebacker Jamien Sherwood said, according to ESPN. ‘On Sunday, it’s all about the players. Your talents got to show up. All the work you put in during the week, you have to show up. And the last two weeks we just haven’t been doing it.’