Aaron Glenn has brought Steve Wilks aboard as his top defensive assistant in New York.
The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a deal with former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. According to a report by Tom Pelissero, which others have since confirmed, the Jets have come to an agreement to make Wilks the team’s next defensive coordinator. While Wilks will be the top defensive coach on staff, new head coach Aaron Glenn was a defensive coordinator with the Lions before joining the Jets, so it remains unclear whether Wilks will be the defensive play-caller.
Wilks has long been one of the most well-respected defensive coaches in the NFL. After climbing the collegiate and pro coaching ranks as a defensive backs coach, he became an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers in 2017. The following year, he was hired as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. However, entrusted with rookie quarterback Josh Rosen, Wilks struggled to keep his team competitive and was fired after just one season.
Subsequently, Wilks returned to coordinating, leading the Browns’ defense in 2019 and Missouri’s defense in 2021 before returning to the Panthers as a member of Matt Rhule’s staff in 2022. When Rhule was fired early in the season, Wilks was made the interim coach and led the Panthers on an unexpected late-season surge, even after they traded Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers.
While Wilks did not receive a head coaching opportunity following his successful interim tenure, the 49ers made him their defensive coordinator in 2023. While the team reached the Super Bowl, the defense’s inconsistencies and a clear rift between Wilks and both the players and head coach Kyle Shanahan ultimately led him to be fired after just one season. Granted, his replacement (Nick Sorensen) was fired after an even worse showing the past year.