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New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn reacting on the sideline during an NFL game against the New Orleans Saints.
Interestingly, the New York Jets haven’t announced any changes to the current coaching staff.
At the beginning of the month, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed that several Jets coaches were in danger of losing their jobs. However, that won’t be happening just yet.
“Notably, the Jets haven’t announced any other changes to the defensive coaching staff just yet because Aaron Glenn, I’m told, plans on having the new DC be part of that process,” Rosenblatt explained on social media.
Jets Are Another Step Closer to Hiring a New DC
On Friday, January 16, the Jets released an official list of every person they spoke to over Zoom in the first round of interviews for the DC gig.
This group of eight will be chopped down “in the near future,” according to Jets senior reporter Eric Allen. Those individuals will be invited to particpate for some in-person interviews for the defensive coordinator job.
The coaches that Rosenblatt said were in danger of getting fired included: linebackers coach Aaron Curry and defensive line coach Eric Washington.
SNY’s Connor Hughes and ESPN’s Rich Cimini said the players weren’t big fans of either coach.
However, their futures will be at the discretion of the next DC of the Jets, which totally makes sense. AG shouldn’t be willy-nilly firing people until he knows who will be running point on defense. Typically coordinators like to bring in their own guys, but there are examples of coaches being holdovers because they’re good at their job.
Jets Likely to Keep One of Their Own Amid Coaching Shift
One of the eight individuals who are in the running for the Jets’ DC job comes from in-house.
Chris Harris served as the defensive backs coach and as the pass game coordinator this year. However, when Steve Wilks was fired with three weeks left in the regular season, Harris was promoted to interim DC.
While the results of him being the play caller were terrible, he isn’t entirely to blame. The hay is in the barn after 15 weeks and 14 games of play. There wasn’t much Harris could change in such a short period of time.
Whatever he did behind the scenes must have impressed Coach Glenn because Rosenblatt said, “There is a sense that he’s a legit DC candidate” for this job.
Rosenblatt did admit that he would be “surprised” if Harris ended up getting the full-time DC job. What he would be less surprised by is Harris returning to the team in some capacity.
Rosenblatt said he anticipates Harris returning to the staff. While the next DC will have a say in the construction of the staff, ultimately, Coach Glenn has final say on all roster and coaching decisions.
That Still Leaves an Unanswered Question
Okay, Coach Glenn doesn’t want to fire anyone on defense until he hires a new DC. That totally tracks and makes sense. The new person should be included in those conversations.
So why not any staff changes on offense?
By all accounts, offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand is safe. That has been confirmed by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and several team insiders.
If that’s true, then what’s the holdup?
The other coach that Rosenblatt said was in danger of getting canned was quarterbacks coach Charles London. Yet he remains on the team at this point.
Bluntly, the Jets had arguably the worst quarterback play in the NFL this season. The upcoming 2026 offseason is critically important because the Jets plan to overhaul their QB room. Is London the right guy to trust with a brand new roster of quarterbacks? That is very much up in the air.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
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