Aaron Glenn makes home-run hire with his choice for NY Jets DC

The NY Jets were eyeing an experienced defensive mind to pair with rookie head coach Aaron Glenn, and the team found just that in a candidate who was reportedly their top choice all along.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero is reporting that the Jets have hired longtime NFL assistant and former head coach Steve Wilks to be their new defensive coordinator. Wilks has been linked to the Jets' defensive coordinator job since Glenn’s hiring last week, with many viewing him as the frontrunner.

Wilks, 55, boasts three decades of coaching experience, including nearly two decades in the NFL. As the 49ers’ defensive coordinator in 2023, he helped lead one of the league’s top defenses, with his team finishing third in points allowed.

Glenn told reporters on Monday that he does not plan to call plays for the Jets' defense in 2025, making the defensive coordinator hire one of his most important decisions. Wilks is about as accomplished of a candidate as the Jets could have hoped to hire.

Steve Wilks is an excellent addition to Aaron Glenn's NY Jets coaching staff

A longtime defensive backs coach, Wilks has had multiple stints as a defensive coordinator and as a head coach in the NFL, appearing in three different Super Bowls over the course of his 20+ year career.

Wilks served as the Arizona Cardinals head coach in 2018 but was surprisingly let go after just one season coaching arguably the worst roster in football. He found success as the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator in 2019 but was not retained after head coach Freddie Kitchens was fired.

One of Wilks' most impressive accomplishments was coaching the Carolina Panthers to a 6-6 record following the midseason firing of head coach Matt Rhule. Wilks had one of the more impressive interim head coach stints in recent NFL memory.

He parlayed his success in Carolina into a defensive coordinator opportunity with the 49ers in 2023. Wilks led the 49ers to the third-ranked scoring defense and third-ranked rush defense with the team finishing second in the NFL in interceptions and third in sacks.

The 49ers' defense under Wilks also finished the year tied for first, with the Jets, in Pro Football Focus grade in 2023. Despite San Francisco's defensive dominance, the 49ers opted to move on from Wilks after just one season citing "philosophical differences" with head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Wilks is exactly what the Jets need — an experienced, steady hand to lead the defense while Glenn focuses on shaping the franchise. The Jets were hoping to hire an accomplished defensive coordinator who could be a valuable voice in a room with a rookie head coach.

Steve Wilks is just that. This is a home-run hire for Glenn and the Jets.

More NY Jets news and analysis: