Jets To Hire Brian Duker As DC
The Jets have put an end to a drawn-out defensive coordinator search. They’re hiring former Dolphins pass game coordinator Brian Duker, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The 36-year-old Duker was not publicly on the radar for the Jets’ job until they held a virtual interview with him on Tuesday. He’ll now reunite with head coach Aaron Glenn, whom he teamed with in Detroit from 2021-23. Glenn was the Lions’ defensive coordinator then, while Duker served as a defensive assistant, safeties coach and defensive backs coach.
After helping develop Lions safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, Duker left for Miami. He spent two years with the Dolphins, but with new head coach Jeff Hafley and his staff coming in, Duker will exit to take on a bigger role with a different AFC East team in 2026.
Duker became the ninth coach to interview for the Jets’ DC gig, a position that once looked likely to go to the experienced Don “Wink” Martindale. Although Martindale was the only candidate who landed a second interview, he and the Jets didn’t close the deal. Glenn’s preference to call the defensive plays had something to do with it, Connor Hughes of SNY reports. It’s also part of the reason why Broncos pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard was “never an option” despite also interviewing with the Jets.
At the outset of the search, Glenn did not make it known that he intended to call plays in 2026, but plans changed along the way, per Hughes. Duker, who has no play-calling experience, will act as Glenn’s second in command next season. The duo will aim for more successful results after the Jets finished the year 25th in yards, 31st in points, and somehow failed to intercept a single pass.
The Jets’ defensive struggles led to the mid-December firing of Steve Wilks. Defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Chris Harris replaced Wilks for the final three games of the season, but the Jets allowed a whopping 106 points in that span. Harris nonetheless interviewed for the full-time role, but Glenn will turn to Duker instead.
Jets Interview Brian Duker For DC
Add Dolphins pass game coordinator Brian Duker to a growing list of candidates for the Jets’ defensive coordinator position. The Jets have completed a virtual interview with Duker, per a team announcement.
[RELATED: Jets, OC Tanner Engstrand Part Ways]
Duker spent the past two seasons in Miami, where he worked under defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. With Weaver likely on his way out of Miami after the hiring of new head coach Jeff Hafley, the 36-year-old Duker may end up elsewhere in 2026 even if the Jets don’t hire him.
Before joining the Dolphins, Duker formed a rapport with Jets head coach Aaron Glenn while the two were on the same staff in Detroit. With Glenn serving as the Lions’ defensive coordinator, Duker held three different roles – defensive assistant, safeties coach and defensive backs coach – from 2021-23. Duker assisted in the development of safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch along the way.
Although Duker doesn’t have any play-calling experience in the NFL, it may not matter in this case. Glenn reportedly prefers to handle those duties himself, which could point to someone with little to no experience as a defensive coordinator serving in that role with the Jets next season.
Veteran DC Steve Wilks was at the helm for most of 2025, but Glenn fired him in mid-December. Defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Chris Harris took over for Wilks for the final three games of the season. The Jets’ immense struggles continued after that. In losses to the Saints, Patriots and Bills, they surrendered a total of 106 points.
New York’s defense, which said goodbye to cornerback Sauce Gardner and lineman Quinnen Williams in Nov. 4 trade deadline deals, ended the year 25th in yards and 31st in points. Worse, the Jets failed to record an interception.
Duker became the ninth candidate to interview for the Jets’ job. Here’s the rest of the list:
- Mathieu Araujo, cornerbacks coach (Dolphins): Interviewed
- Ephraim Banda, safeties coach (Browns): Interviewed
- DeMarcus Covington, defensive line coach (Packers): Interviewed
- Chris Harris, interim defensive coordinator (Jets): Interviewed 1/18
- Daronte Jones, defensive backs coach (Vikings): Interviewed
- Jim Leonhard, defensive backs coach (Broncos): Interviewed
- Don Martindale, defensive coordinator (Michigan): Conducted second interview 1/24
- Jim O’Neil, defensive assistant/safeties (Lions): Interviewed
Dolphins Will Not Retain Renaldo Hill, Sam Madison; Team To Hire DeShawn Shead
Renaldo Hill left his post as Chargers DC to rejoin former boss Vic Fangio in Miami. With Fangio determining he was not a good fit in South Florida, leading to a quick return to Philadelphia, the Dolphins have since changed plans.
As Anthony Weaver transitions to his role as Dolphins DC, Hill will not be in the equation. Neither Hill nor Sam Madison will be part of Weaver’s defensive staff, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Fangio kept Madison, a former Pro Bowl cornerback in Miami, in place as cornerbacks coach.
A Dolphins safety from 2006-08, Hill had coached under Fangio with the Broncos. The Chargers hired the two-year Denver assistant to be their defensive coordinator in 2021. Brandon Staley retained play-calling duties on that side of the ball during his Los Angeles tenure, and when Fangio accepted the Dolphins’ lucrative DC offer in 2023, Hill made the interesting move to leave a DC post for a position coaching role. The Dolphins employed Hill as their DBs coach. This marked the longtime assistant’s second tour of duty with the franchise; the Dolphins had Hill in place as assistant DBs coach in 2018 under Adam Gase.
The Chiefs had Madison in place as their corners coach from 2019-21; he returned to Miami to work under then-DC Josh Boyer in 2022. A 1997 Dolphins second-round pick, Madison spent nine seasons with the team. He collected All-Pro accolades in four of those years, signing a lucrative extension in in 2000. Madison, 49, will be in search of a new team moving forward.
Miami has since replaced Hill with Brian Duker, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. While the Dolphins are also making Duker their pass-game coordinator on defense, he will make a lateral move after serving as the Lions’ DBs coach under Aaron Glenn. Duker took over as Detroit’s DBs coach following the midseason firing of Aubrey Pleasant in 2022. The Lions gave Duker more help in 2023, via the additions of several free agents and second-round pick Brian Branch. But Duker’s unit lost C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Emmanuel Moseley early. The Lions also made tweaks to their secondary this season, accounting for Branch’s rise and the struggles of cornerback Jerry Jacobs.
Additionally, the Dolphins are hiring DeShawn Shead from the Seahawks, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. Although Shead’s role is not yet confirmed, the Seahawks had the ex-Legion of Boom supporting-caster in place as their assistant DBs coach from from 2021-23. It is certainly reasonable to expect Shead, 34, to work in that capacity under Duker in Miami. After an ACL tear during a Seahawks 2016 divisional-round loss to the Falcons sidetracked Shead’s playing career, he eventually found his way to coaching for his former team. The Pete Carroll favorite will follow the longtime HC off Seattle’s staff.
Coaching Notes: Bills, Panthers, Dolphins, Saints, Lions, Packers
Another former member of the Panthers organization is heading to Buffalo. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter), the Bills are hiring Al Holcomb as a senior defensive assistant. ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg tweets that the two sides have yet to officially finalize a deal but are heading in that direction.
After having previously spent five seasons as the Panthers linebackers coach, Holcomb returned to Carolina in 2020 as their defensive run game coordinator. When Steve Wilks became the Panthers interim head coach this past season, Holcomb was promoted to the team’s interim defensive coordinator/assistant head coach.
Holcomb worked under former Panthers defensive coordinator (and current Bills head coach) Sean McDermott in Carolina. He also worked alongside current Bills GM Brandon Beane, who previously served as Carolina’s director of football operations and assistant GM.
Speaking of the Panthers, they made their own coaching move today. The team announced that they’ve agreed to terms with linebackers coach Peter Hansen. The coach served in the same role with the Broncos last season, where he coached under new Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. The 43-year-old Hansen was previously the defensive coordinator at UNLV.
More coaching notes from around the NFL…
- The Dolphins are hiring Butch Barry as their new offensive line coach, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). Barry was recently canned by the Broncos after serving as their OL coach for one season, but now he’ll get another opportunity in Miami. The veteran coach will be replacing Matt Applebaum, who was let go after only one season with the Dolphins organization.
- The Saints have been busy adding to their coaching staff. Cardinals defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson is heading to New Orleans, per Mike Jurecki (on Twitter). Robertson, who spent the past four years in Arizona, will presumably be serving in the same role with the Saints. Meanwhile, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets that the Saints are closing in on a deal with Clancy Barone to serve as their tight ends coach. The veteran coach most recently served in that same role with the Bears, and he previously worked alongside Saints head coach Dennis Allen when the two were with the Broncos and with Texas A&M. Finally, Underhill tweets the the Saints are retaining offensive assistant Kevin Petry. The young coach “was coveted for a position by Sean Payton” in Denver, per Underhill, but the Saints ultimately convinced him to stick in New Orleans.
- The Lions have made some changes to their coaching staff. Most notably, the team promoted J.T. Barrett to assistant quarterbacks coach and Shaun Dion Hamilton to assistant linebackers coach. Barrett, a former star at Ohio State, bounced around the NFL before joining the Lions coaching staff as an offensive assistant last offseason. Hamilton, a former sixth-round pick, spent a year on the Lions’ roster before joining their coaching staff last year. Per Tim Twentyman of the team’s website (on Twitter), the Lions also promoted Brian Duker to defensive backs coach, Tanner Engstrand to passing game coordinator, and Steve Oliver to assistant offensive line coach. The Lions have also added Dre Thompson as a defensive quality control coach.
- The Packers are hiring former Cardinals cornerbacks coach Greg Williams, according to Tom Silverstein of Packers News. It’s uncertain what role Williams will fill on Matt LaFleur’s staff, but Silverstein expects him to help fill the void left by defensive passing game coordinator Jerry Gray, who left Green Bay for the Falcons. Prior to his four-year stint in Arizona, Williams served as the Broncos and Colts defensive backs coach.