NY Jets: Who is new interim defensive coordinator Frank Bush?

The NY Jets have named Frank Bush their new interim defensive coordinator.

The NY Jets have officially made their first coaching change of the season firing defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and promoting assistant head coach/inside linebacker coach Frank Bush to take his place.

Williams may not have been the coach that most expected to be fired first, but after his egregious late-game decision cost the Jets their first victory of the season in Week 13, the writing was on the wall.

Henry Ruggs streaking past undrafted rookie cornerback Lamar Jackson will forever be the image that many Jets fans associate with Gregg Williams. There’s no coming back from that.

With four weeks to play, it seems pretty clear that essentially the entire coaching staff will be wiped out by the end of the season. But until then, the Jets have a new defensive coordinator calling the shots.

Just who is Frank Bush and what should fans expect from the longtime defensive assistant?

What should NY Jets fans expect from interim defensive coordinator Frank Bush?

Bush has been with the Jets since 2019 when he joined the team as part of head coach Adam Gase’s initial coaching staff. He’s held the title of assistant head coach of the defense/inside linebackers coach for each of the last two seasons.

However, his history with Gase goes a little further back.

Bush spent time under Gase in Miami as the team’s assistant head coach/linebackers coach from 2017 to 2018 taking over after Matt Burke was promoted to defensive coordinator.

For the vast majority of his career, Bush has primarily been a positional coach in charge of overseeing linebacker corps. He’s spent time with a variety of organizations including the Los Angeles Rams, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, and Denver Broncos.

In fact, he received his first coaching gig way back in 1993 as the linebackers coach for the Houston Oilers — a team he played two years with before a spinal injury forced him into an early retirement.

Bush’s most notable role to date probably came when he was the defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans from 2009-2010 — his only coordinator position prior to his promotion with the Jets.

Needless to say, Houston’s defense under Bush wasn’t very successful and he was fired after two disappointing seasons, the latter of which saw the Texans allow the fourth-most points in the league.

With Houston, Bush was known for his tenacious, attacking defensive style not too dissimilar to his predecessor, Gregg Williams. Of course, it’s been 10 years since he was trusted with calling plays on defense, but it will be interesting to see if those characteristics carry over.

Bush was always a well-respected players’ coach during his time with the Texans and, by all accounts, is well-respected by the Jets’ locker room as well.

It’s likely that Bush’s position is a temporary one and that his time as defensive coordinator is short-lived. Regardless, this is an opportunity for him to show that he can be an NFL defensive coordinator again — for the Jets or some other team.

He’ll have four weeks to make a lasting impression.