New York Jets Relieved Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks Of His Duties
The Jets have been struggling this season on both sides of the ball. But giving up 48 points in Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars is what apparently broke the camel’s back. Hence the New York Jets relieved defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks, of his duties.
With just three games left in the season, head coach Aaron Glenn decided it was time to make a change. During his Monday press conference he explained to reporters his reason for relieving Wilks of his duties:
“I thought from last week to this week that the improvement wasn’t there. I thought it was time to make a change. I’m going to make the decision that’s best for this organization at all times.”
With the exit of Wilks, Chris Harris has been named the interim coordinator and passing game coordinator. And he will handle play-calling duties in conjunction with Glenn for the final three weeks.
Part of the reason for the defensive collapse was their inability to defend the play-action pass which they should have known that the Jaguars would be throwing at them. Additionally, they had multiple missed tackles throughout the game. As a result they were down 21 points early in the game and gave up a lot of points overall to the tune of a 20-48 loss to the Jags.
To this point of the season the Jets rank 30th in points allowed and 20th in yards through 14 games. Jacksonville quarterback, Trevor Lawrence took complete advantage of the leaky defense. He put up five touchdown passes and 330 yards passing. New York also allowed 108 rushing yards. Further emphasizing the Jets defensive deficiencies, they rank 30th in QB pressures (72), tied for 31st in sacks (22) and has missed 95 tackles, sixth-most. Most amazing is that through 14 weeks, the Jets don’t have a single interception.
New York Jets Relieved Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks Of His Duties
Steve Wilks had been out of the league for a year. But prior to that he was the DC for the San Francisco 49ers who went on a Super Bowl run in 2023. However, Wilks was fired at the end of that season. It remains to be seen if he will get another opportunity elsewhere.
So in the midst of one of the Jets worse defensive seasons where do they go from here? According to Glenn, he’s looking for something in particular:
“I want to see consistent improvement. I want to see structure that’s consistent,” Glenn said. “I want to see play that’s consistent and I want to see the character — the culture of this football team come together.”
He’s going to have his hands full trying to build up this defense into something better. Not mention transforming the offense and special teams into better units as well. That’s a tough ask for any coach, here’s hoping he can do it.
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