Jets request interview with Vikings assistant Daronte Jones for defensive coordinator role: report

After becoming the first team in NFL history to complete a season without forcing a single interception, the Jetsare searching for a new permanent coach to oversee their defense.

They're also wasting no time with the process, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the team has requested to interview Vikings passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones for their defensive coordinator role.

Schefter also notes the Cowboys are scheduled to interview Jones for the same position.

Jones, 46, joined the Vikings in 2020 and returned to the team in his current capacity in 2022 after spending the 2021 season as LSU's defensive coordinator.

Working alongside defensive mind Brian Flores, the Vikings finished as a top-three unit in 2025, allowing 282.6 yards on average. They also forced a league-high 13 fumbles and ranked seventh in average points allowed (19.6).

Jones' coaching experience began in 2001 as a Division II graduate assistant, and following nine separate stints between the high school and college ranks and also the CFL, he reached the NFL as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Dolphins (2016-17).

He then spent the next two seasons with the Bengals, working as their cornerbacks coach.