Jets fire defensive coordinator Steve Wilks

Aaron Glenn announced on Monday morning that the Jets have fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

Defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Chris Harris will take over as interim defensive coordinator.

"This decision that I made late last night, and I talked to [Wilks] this morning, and I felt like it was the best decision for the organization at this time," Glenn explained. "And I've said this all along, that I'm evaluating players, I'm evaluating coaches, I'm evaluating myself, and I just felt like this was the best decision right now for the team and for the organization."

"I just thought that from last week going into this week, that the improvement wasn't there, and I thought it was time to make a change," he added. "And again, I'm going to make the decision that's best for this organization at all times, and it's my job to make sure I continue to evaluate everything that's going on. I told you guys that, and that's my job as the head coach, and I just thought this was the time to make that decision."

This was a quick change of tune for Glenn, who backed his defensive coordinator following Sunday's loss in Jacksonville.

"I brought Wilks in for a reason. I want him to run his system," Glenn said following the loss. "We have three games left for our guys to go out and play. Right now, it's not about the X's and O's across the board. It's about the character of the men on this team, and that's what I'm evaluating."

Wilks' defense was dismantled on Sunday, allowing 438 total yards, six touchdowns, and 48 points in an ugly loss to the Jaguars.

"You just don't give up that many points and lose by that margin and say it's not [a step back]. I'm not going to BS any of you guys," Glenn said Sunday. "We have to make sure we can fix that... We have to figure something out... We can't lose games like that, it's unacceptable."

Wilks, a longtime defensive coach and coordinator at both the college and NFL level, was one of Glenn's first hires this past offseason. But under his guidance, the Jets defense took a huge step backwards. After ranking third in total defense in 2024 (313.8 yards per game) with 17 takeaways, the Jets fell to 20th in total defense (337.4 yards per game) and 30th in scoring defense (28.4 points per game) in 2025.

Perhaps the biggest step back has been in the takeaways department, as the Jets have forced just three turnovers all season and have still not recorded an interception, ranking last in the league with a -17 turnover differential.

Trading standout defensive players Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the deadline certainly didn't help matters, but the Jets had struggled on defense even with those two on the field, and now Glenn will need to start a search for his second defensive coordinator in as many seasons.