Aaron Glenn sends strong message to Jets locker room with Steve Wilks firing

The New York Jets made a surprising midseason move on Monday, firing defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after Sunday’s embarrassing 48–20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Head coach Aaron Glenn confirmed the decision to reporters Monday morning in a rare in-season shakeup with just three games remaining. While the defense has been plagued by injuries and roster turnover, the unit’s consistently uncompetitive and predictable play left little room for excuses.

More than anything, the move sends a clear message about Glenn’s standards and his willingness to act when those standards aren’t being met. It had become increasingly apparent that the players had quit on Wilks.

Nearly every player on the unit had regressed. Wilks oversaw an uninspired, vanilla scheme that put the Jets at a schematic disadvantage every week. Change had to happen, and it's very encouraging to see Glenn be proactive as opposed to sitting on his hands and waiting for the season to end.

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Jets' Steve Wilks firing sends strong message about Aaron Glenn

The numbers don't tell the full story of the Jets' defensive incompetence under Wilks, but they're a good place to start. The Jets tied the NFL record on Sunday for the longest stretch in NFL history without an interception.

Through 15 weeks, the Jets have managed just three takeaways (one of which was a muffed punt) and zero interceptions. They're on pace to smash the NFL record for the fewest takeaways in a season, which is currently seven. They have less than half of that with three games to play.

The Jets rank 28th in EPA per play allowed and 30th in dropback EPA per play allowed. They entered Sunday with the seventh-highest blitz rate in the NFL but generated pressure at just the 31st-highest rate on those blitzes.

They are routinely overmatched in the middle of the field and have been regularly slow to adapt. Sunday's loss to the Jaguars was as wide a gap between offensive and defensive play-callers as you will see in an NFL game this season. Liam Coen coached circles around Wilks, and the scoreline showed it.

Glenn's decision to fire Wilks now — and promote defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Chris Harris — sends a message to the locker room that the defensive product we've seen on the field these last few weeks will not be tolerated.

It's a message of accountability by action, not words. Change felt inevitable — Glenn just didn't want to wait around to make it happen.

Firing Wilks before the season ends may seem like a minor detail, but it reinforces that poor results won’t be brushed aside or delayed until the offseason. This is accountability on full display, and it's a message that should resonate with the rest of the locker room.