The Jets enjoyed stability on defense for three-plus seasons, having Robert Saleh overseeing Jeff Ulbrich. The unit made tremendous strides in 2022 and remained one of the league’s best in 2023. Woody Johnson went around then-GM Joe Douglas and fired Saleh in October 2024. The Jets’ defense has not regained its form since.
Although the Jets did rank third in total defense under Ulbrich last year, they dropped to 20th in scoring and 21st in EPA per play. No silver lining was present under Steve Wilks, who oversaw the league’s 30th-ranked scoring unit (20th in yardage, 28th in EPA per play) and was fired after Week 15. This marks Wilks’ fifth straight one-and-done stretch in the NFL; overall, the former Panthers and Cardinals HC has not stayed with the same team/college program since his first Panthers stint ended after the 2017 season.
Wilks, 56, ran into internal opposition during his rough Jets stay. Many players viewed Wilks’ scheme as ineffective, according to SNY.tv’s Connor Hughes, who adds one unnamed player questioned Wilks in a meeting. Another player repeatedly questioned his usage and lack of freedom within the scheme.
The Jets struggling defensively after the Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams trades was to be expected, but Wilks’ unit was not doing well before those deadline moves. Wilks’ Jets work has not approached where the 49ers were (third in scoring defense, eighth in yardage) during his one-off with the NFC West club, and the veteran defensive boss’ stock continues to fall.
Wilks, though, worked under a defense-oriented HC. Aaron Glenn certainly deserves blame for the defense’s shape. The Jets have given up 82 points over the past two games — both blowout losses. While Gang Green’s quarterback situation has contributed heavily to those one-sided defeats — to the Dolphins and Jaguars — Glenn’s first year has gone poorly. Given the state of the franchise when the former Jets cornerback took over, a quick turnaround was not exactly expected.
Johnson also strongly endorsed Glenn at the October owners’ meetings, doing so while criticizing then-starter Justin Fields. Still, the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora notes Glenn is “far from assured” to be back for a second season. Considering the heat Johnson took for meddling last year and Glenn signing a five-year contract, it would be quite surprising to see the Jets pull the trigger now. We also heard last month Glenn was safe for 2026, with the rookie HC being involved in the decisions the Jets made at the trade deadline.
This coaching market is not exactly teeming with talent that would inspire confidence an upgrade is in store, with a host of defense-based leaders as the top candidates. The Jets firing Glenn after one season would further depict this as an unstable organization. It should still be expected Glenn returns for 2026, when the team will hold two first-round picks thanks to the Gardner trade. But the heat may be rising already for the former Lions DC.
Firing the HC after one season with a fire sale and a terrible quarterback situation would be silly. This hasn’t been good, but this also isn’t a Nathaniel Hackett/Urban Meyer level situation.
A rookie HC at that. Trading away star players makes it clear rebuild is imminent. Don’t follow Jets too close, but Glenn seems like he has the temperament to facilitate a rebuild ala his old boss Campbell.
I like your phrasing of “the temperament to facilitate a rebuild,” because I think one thing we see is ownership groups that lack that. It’s been a defining problem with the Jets, Raiders, and Saints, while the Lions got where they are in part because ownership stood by Campbell et al when it was rough early on.
But Glenn is at least partially responsible for the QB situation. And his inability to show any improvement over the early portion of the season is what led to the fire sale. I don’t think he deserves a pass for circumstances he helped create. Also, if they are in fact rebuilding, failing to trade Breece Hall was dumb. Here’s the take away:
The Jets remain a directionless dumpster fire.
Glenn is overmatched as a head coach.
The Jets a stuck with an overmatched head coach because of his contract, so it doesn’t really matter if they try to rebuild or try to win. First, they have to wait out Glenn, then start all over. Again.
And you are overmatched as a fan. Try golf or tennis.
This isn’t a Bengals situation. It’s not like the reason not to fire Glenn is fear of the financial hit.
Agreed. It’s more about optics. They gave Adam Gase another year for the same reasons and all it accomplished was setting the franchise back another year. Whatever criticism they may have avoided regarding being too quick with the ax, they made up for with comical on field performances.
Those were different scenarios, though. They hired Gase coming immediately off an unsuccessful tenure in Miami in the hopes that he would be good for Darnold. Glenn is a rookie head coach with a rookie offensive coordinator who was handed a bad quarterback situation, and for the last several weeks they’ve been without the team’s three best players going into the year. They also have among the very best special teams in football, so it’s not like the staff has been a complete bust.
Glenn was always a questionable candidate for HC
Apparently everyone was a questionable candidate because Rex Ryan tried to assure all who would listen, that he was the best choice…lol.