Jets Fire Several Assistant Coaches

The first year of Aaron Glenn’s tenure as head coach of the Jets has come and gone, and with it, several coaches from his first assembled staff in New York have reportedly hit the road.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports quarterbacks coach Charles London, passing game coordinator Scott Turner, defensive line coach Eric Washington, linebackers coach Aaron Curry, and defensive assistants Roosevelt Williams and Alonso Escalante have all been let go after their first year under Glenn in New York. Despite the dismissal of several key offensive assistant coaches, offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand notably remains in place, after Glenn dismissed defensive coordinator Steve Wilks midseason.

While it’s not uncommon for first-time head coaches to make adjustments to their staff after a first attempt, this is a pretty large amount of turnover for Glenn. After letting go of one coordinator in December, hanging on to Engstrand might have been a necessity, but per Wilson, after Engstrand’s unit finished 29th out of 32 teams in both total points and total yards, a change in structures, roles, and responsibilities was expected. That structure has yet to be strictly defined, but with the dismissal of London and Turner, it’s clear a change in the approach to the passing game is a top priority.

The Jets will obviously be looking to add a quarterback for 2026, and they’ll rely on Engstrand to build a strong support staff to either develop a young draft pick or implement a new veteran addition. New York has assembled a group of pass catchers that features Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, and tight end Mason Taylor, but with free agency and the draft still to determine much of how the rest of the offense will look moving forward, putting together the right staff around the pieces they know are in place becomes a crucial consideration.

The dismissal of multiple defensive staffers was mostly expected. The unit was handicapped by the front office a bit after trades that removed star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and star cornerback Sauce Gardner from the picture, and injury issues surely didn’t help. Still, the Jets defense allowed the second-most points of any defense in the NFL, allowed the most touchdowns through the air of any team in the NFL, and became the first defense in NFL history not to record a single interception (since interceptions became a stat).

Turning around this Jets team was already going to be a struggle for Glenn and Co., and that job got harder with the loss of some top talent over the course of Glenn’s first season. Now, New York is hitting a bit of reset in Year 2 of the 53-year-old head coach, who now needs to hire a defensive coordinator and fill three position coach openings. Once the staffing is complete, the Jets will turn their attention towards reinforcing their depleted roster with what Overthecap.com says is the fifth-most cap space in the league and two first-round picks.