The New York Jets have agreed to bring on former NFL head coach Steve Wilks as the team’s defensive coordinator under coach Aaron Glenn, according to a league source.
The 55-year-old brings extensive coaching experience at the NFL level dating back to 2006. Most recently, Wilks served as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator in 2023, a unit that finished 10th in the league in defensive EPA per play and fifth in total turnovers en route to a Super Bowl berth. The defense’s 298 points allowed helped San Francisco post a point differential of plus-193, the highest for the franchise since 1995.
As a former head coach for multiple teams, Wilks brings a greater level of experience to first-time head coach Aaron Glenn. Wilks served as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. He also served as the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers in 2022 following the dismissal of Matt Rhule. After a 1-4 start under Rhule, Wilks helped lead the Panthers to a final record of 7-10, winning four of their last six games.
Wilks is part of a growing staffing trend among first-time head coaches hired this cycle. Among the three new head coaches who have already hired defensive coordinators, all three (Glenn, Ben Johnson and Brian Schottenheimer) have brought on a defensive coordinator with previous head-coaching experience. Johnson hired former New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen to be the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator, while Schottenheimer hired former Bears coach Matt Eberflus to coach the Dallas Cowboys.
The Jets are also expected to hire Chris Banjo as special teams coordinator and Steve Heiden as offensive line coach, per a league source.
Banjo served as the assistant special teams coach for the Denver Broncos in 2023. Denver has finished ninth and fourth in special teams DVOA the last two seasons, respectively, with return specialist Marvin Mims making first-team All-Pro in 2024 as a punt returner.
Heiden most recently served as the tight ends coach with the Detroit Lions and was previously an assistant offensive line coach under Wilks for the Cardinals in 2018. Lions tight ends Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright finished with the second- and eighth-most blocking snaps among all tight ends this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Wilks brings experience to a first-time staff
Wilks has been the expected hire as the Jets’ defensive coordinator since before Glenn was hired as the Jets’ head coach. It’s a pairing that makes sense — even if Glenn doesn’t actually have any past ties to Wilks. At his intro news conference, Glenn said he wouldn’t be calling plays on defense so he could focus on the entire operation — so it was going to be important to get an experienced play caller in the building.
Even more important: Bringing coaches onto the staff with head-coaching experience. As a first-time head coach, it’s beneficial for someone like Glenn to have coaches who have been there before — and Wilks has, spending one season as the Cardinals head coach in 2018 and part of the 2022 season as the Panthers interim coach. He’s been the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Panthers (twice) and the 49ers in 2023 — when San Francisco finished eighth in yards allowed and third in points, though Wilks was still fired after the season. The 49ers finished worse in both categories in 2024.
The Jets’ defense should look much different with Wilks and Glenn leading the way than it did with head coach Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich previously. This defense should deploy much more man coverage — and more blitzing, which was not a staple of the previous regime. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer
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