The Jets on Thursday made their first offseason coaching move by requesting to interview Vikings defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones for their vacant defensive coordinator job.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn fired his hand-picked defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks, after 14 games this season with the team’s defense struggling.
The Jets defense finished ranked 31st in points against, allowing 503 this season.
They set an NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season with four and became the first team in NFL history to go an entire season without an interception.
Wilks was replaced by defensive backs coach Chris Harris, who’s presumably in the conversation to remove the interim tag and become the full-time coordinator.
Jones, 47, originally joined the Vikings as a defensive backs coach in 2020 under then-head coach Mike Zimmer.
He worked as LSU’s defensive backs coach in 2021 before rejoining the Vikings on Kevin O’Connell’s first staff in the same role in 2022.
He added defensive pass game coordinator to his title in 2023, and he’s held that role ever since.
Working alongside Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Jones and the Vikings finished as a top-three defense this season, allowing 282.6 yards per game.
The Vikings also forced a league-high 13 fumbles and ranked seventh in average points allowed at 19.6 per game.
Jones has more than 20 years of coaching experience and has been working under Flores, who’s a head coaching candidate around the league.
The Jets aren’t the only team interested in Jones, who will also interview with the Cowboys for their vacant defensive coordinator job.
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