The New York Jets defense reached a new low Sunday in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, enough to spur changes on Aaron Glenn’s coaching staff. Glenn fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday, the morning after the Jets allowed 48 points in Jacksonville, and a week after allowing 34 points to the Miami Dolphins. Defensive backs coach Chris Harris will replace Wilks in the interim.
Glenn said he made the decision late Sunday night and informed Wilks on Monday.
“I’m evaluating players, coaches, myself and I just felt like this was the best decision for right now for the team and for this organization,” Glenn said.
It was somewhat surprising that Glenn didn’t wait until the end of the season to make a change, which he indicated after Sunday’s loss, but ultimately the Jets defense was only getting worse — and now Glenn can see if Harris, who is considered an up-and-coming coach in league circles, has what it takes to lead the defense. Harris will call the plays and Glenn will assist with game planning, he said.
“I’m going to make the decisions that’s best for this organization at all times,” Glenn said. “It’s my job to make sure I continue to evaluate everything that’s going on. That’s my job as the head coach. I just felt this was the time for me to make that decision.”
Perhaps it should’ve been telling that Wilks was on the outs when Glenn went out of his way to say that he brought in Wilks to run “his system.” That’s a change in language from the offseason, when Wilks said it would be a “collaboration” between Glenn and Wilks’ scheme. Ultimately, Glenn hired Wilks to run the defense so he could oversee the whole operation — rather than calling plays on defense as the head coach, as he did in his role as defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
The idea behind hiring Wilks in the offseason was understandable: Glenn is a first-year head coach and it was important to bring in a voice onto his coaching staff that not only had significant play calling experience, but also experience as a head coach, which Wilks has. Elsewhere on the staff, Glenn hired first-timers at offensive coordinator (Tanner Engstrand) and special teams coordinator (Chris Banjo). As it turns out, Glenn might’ve had the right idea — he just picked the wrong coach in the end.
This marks the third time Wilks has been fired before or right after the end of his first season on the job with a team — previously by the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers.
The Jets’ defensive struggles began in Week 1, allowing 34 points to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and hardly improved, allowing 30 or more points six times, and 27 or more three other times. The unit is on the verge of historic ineptitude in terms of takeaways, currently sitting with just three in 14 games (which would set an NFL record), along with zero interceptions, the longest a team has ever gone to start a season without recording a pick.
And it’s not as if the defense was thriving in other areas to make up for that lack of takeaways. They have allowed the third-most points in the NFL and rank 28th in defensive EPA, 29th in run defense, 28th in sack rate, 25th in red zone defense and have the second-worst rate of completions that go for touchdowns or first downs, per TruMedia. Some key players have also regressed under Wilks, especially defensive end Will McDonald (has only recorded sacks in three games), linebacker Quincy Williams (allowed three touchdowns in coverage this season and was benched) and linebacker Jamien Sherwood, who has not lived up to the significant contract he signed in the offseason.
Harris has a legitimate chance to earn the full-time job, but will only have three games to audition with a defense depleted of talent after the Jets traded away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, coupled with some injuries in the secondary. Harris called plays during a game in the preseason, Glenn said.
Harris, 43, has never been a defensive coordinator before. He has been a defensive assistant since 2013, coaching defensive backs since 2016. He played with five teams from 2005 until his retirement in 2012, being named a second-team All-Pro in 2010.
