After giving up 82 points the last two weeks, Steve Wilks paid the ultimate price.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn fired Wilks on Monday following the Jets’ humiliating 48-20 loss to the Jaguars.
Glenn then announced that Chris Harris, who had been the defensive backs/pass game coordinator, will be the Jets interim defensive coordinator for the final three weeks of the season. When talking about this opportunity to become a defensive coordinator, Harris was quick to point out that Wilks was not to blame for all of the Jets defensive deficiencies.
“Steve’s a good coach, a good friend of mine,” Harris said on Thursday. “I learned a lot from him. It’s unfortunate, ultimately, that this happened, but this is on all of us as a coaching staff.
“I want to thank AG [Glenn] for putting me in this position, but again, it’s not about me. It’s just all about us, defensively, trying to make sure that we’re doing all the right things we need to do to put the players and come out there and have success against the Saints.”
Sunday’s game against the Saints won’t be the first time Harris has called defensive plays in the league. He has been a playcaller during the preseason. But now, Harris will have a three-game audition to prove he should be the Jets defensive coordinator moving forward.
Harris, 43, has a lot to clean up in a short amount of time for an underwhelming Jets defense. They have gone from being a top-five defensive unit the past three seasons to one of the worst in the NFL. They are 20th in yards (337.4) and 30th in points allowed per game (28.4). The Jets are on pace to give up 482 points in 2025, which would be the second-highest in franchise history, behind the 2021 defense that allowed 504 points.
“I think sometimes people think that it’s going to be this wholesale scheme change,” Glenn said about the defensive coordinator shakeup. “You can’t do that to the players. And it’s not just three games left, it’s just everything, all the work they’ve put in up until this point and to try a whole new system would be tough on the players.
“Now there will also be some wrinkles that he wants to do himself and, man, I applaud that for him, but there is a system that the players know. Will there be some tweaks? Will we fine-tune? Absolutely, we will, but it’s going to be a lot of things that the players know.”
The Jets defense, which was playing better entering December, has been embarrassed the last two weeks. They lost 34-10 to the Dolphins in Week 14, with the game over by the end of the first quarter after the Jets trailed 21-0. Miami rushed for a season-high 239 yards in the victory.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence accounted for six touchdowns in Jacksonville’s victory. The Jaguars scored on eight of the first nine series, and the Jets fell into a quick 14-0 hole, much like the previous week against the Dolphins.
Gang Green’s defense under Wilks, which relied a lot on blitzing, barely touched Lawrence after registering just two quarterback hits and zero sacks. After initially backing him during the postgame press conference, Glenn changed his mind after watching the film and decided to make the change.
The Jets defense was among the worst in the NFL during their 0-7 start. But after winning three of five, it appeared that they were on the right track. But the Jets have allowed 41 points per game the last two weeks and have given up an average of 398 yards per game.
The most horrific stat of the Jets’ defense this season is that they have only two and zero interceptions. The Jets tied the 2024 San Francisco 49ers last Sunday for the longest streak in NFL history without an interception (14 games).
“I don’t want to make anything about me,” Harris said. “But you know, bringing to the defense, I’m a former player, so you know, I can talk to the guys.
“I understand how they think. So, it’s all about preparing and we want to play with grit, we want to play with toughness, and those are things we want to try and put on display while we are out there.”
Harris played eight NFL seasons from 2005-12 as a safety. Since his retirement, Harris has been working his way up the coaching ranks, waiting for an opportunity like this one. Before coming to the Jets, he was an assistant coach with the Bears, Chargers, Commanders, and Titans.
Glenn interviewed Harris for the Jets defensive coordinator opening last offseason before ultimately hiring Wilks. Last month, NFL Media named Harris as one of the “NFL coaches to watch in future years.”
“This isn’t ideal,” Harris said. “Nobody wants to go through this during the season. It’s something I’ve definitely aspired to do, and again, I’m grateful for the opportunity that AG’s given me.
“Again, Steve, I’ve learned a lot from him, and like I said, what happened isn’t an indictment on him, it’s our entire defensive staff and we just have to do better.”
