{"id":350820,"date":"2025-12-16T02:41:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T02:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/350820\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T02:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T02:41:10","slug":"nfl-news-jets-fire-defensive-coordinator-steve-wilks-with-3-games-left-in-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/350820\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL news: Jets fire defensive coordinator Steve Wilks with 3 games left in season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">After giving up 48 points to the Jacksonville Jaguars in their latest loss, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/new-york-jets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">New York Jets<\/a> have fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks with three games remaining on the 2025 schedule.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">The move comes right after Trevor Lawrence and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/jacksonville-jaguars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the Jaguars<\/a>\u2019 offense had their way with the Jets\u2019 defense, which has been one of the worst teams in points allowed this season (28.4 per game).<\/p>\n<p>Jets first-year head coach Aaron Glenn made the announcement on Monday despite previously saying he believed in Wilks\u2019 scheme. Glenn, coming from a defensive background, made the move where defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Chris Harris will take over in Wilks\u2019 absence.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/steve-wilks-jets-1.jpg\" alt=\"Steve Wilks arms folded on field\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Steve Wilks, Defensive Coordinator of the New York Jets, in the preseason game against the New York Giants on Aug. 16, 2025 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Rich Graessle\/Icon Sportswire\u00a0)<\/p>\n<p>This move also comes a week after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/miami-dolphins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Miami Dolphins<\/a> put up 34 points on the Jets in a lopsided loss.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I felt like it was the best decision for the organization at this time,&#8221; Glenn said, via the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/15\/sports\/jets-fire-defensive-coordinator-steve-wilks-after-48-point-debacle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Post<\/a>. &#8220;I\u2019ve said this all along. I\u2019m evaluating players. I\u2019m evaluating coaches. I\u2019m evaluating myself. I just felt like this was the best decision right now for the team and for this organization.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wilks has personally had a tough go in recent seasons. He hasn\u2019t served more than a year with the same team since his stint with the Carolina Panthers from 2012-17. He was the head coach of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/arizona-cardinals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Arizona Cardinals<\/a> in 2018, but lasted one year after a 3-13 record.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/jets-defensive-lineman-rips-nfl-officials-after-ejection-vs-jaguars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">JETS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN RIPS NFL OFFICIALS AFTER EJECTION VS JAGUARS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then, Wilks went on to become the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in 2019, but lasted only one season there as well. He was out of football in 2020 before heading to Missouri to serve in the same role. Wilks was with the Panthers again in 2022 before joining the San Francisco 49ers on their way to the Super Bowl as their defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n<p>It was a surprising decision to see the 49ers move on after that one season with Wilks, who didn\u2019t coach in 2024 before joining the Jets this season. Once again, he\u2019ll have to look elsewhere if he wishes to continue coaching.<\/p>\n<p>All the Jets have left to do this season is evaluating everything. They were eliminated from the playoffs for the 15th straight season \u2014 the longest drought in professional sports. The loss on Sunday marked a 3-11 season.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/steve-wilks-jets.jpg\" alt=\"Steve Wilks looks on field\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks of the New York Jets looks on during the NFL 2025 game between Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 7, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Evan Bernstein\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Every player and coach is being evaluated for New York, and the defense has a lot of work to do. It doesn\u2019t help that stars like Quinnen Williams (Dallas Cowboys) and Sauce Gardner (Indianapolis Colts) were traded before the NFL deadline, but the Jets are on pace to allow the second-most points in franchise history.<\/p>\n<p>And in a game where winning the turnover battle is key, the Jets have had just two takeaways all season long, while not being able to haul in an interception through 14 games. That is currently tied for the longest streak in the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>The Jaguars scored on eight of their first nine possessions, virtually having their way with the Jets\u2019 unit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I just thought that from last week going to this week that the improvement wasn\u2019t there,&#8221; Glenn noted. &#8220;I thought it was time to make a change.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I want to see consistent improvement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fox.com\/fox-nation-bundle?cmpid=org=one::ag=owned::mc=seo::src=fn::cmp=13010061000::add=\" title=\"A Fox One and Fox Nation bundle offer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fox-one-fox-nation-promo-111825-1.png\" alt=\"A Fox One and Fox Nation bundle offer\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream the entire FOX Nation library, plus live FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment at our lowest price of the year. The offer ends on Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Jets will aim to do so in the remaining three games to hopefully give themselves momentum heading into 2026. It starts with the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, a 4-10 group that has disrupted the NFC South division after wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers in their last two contests.<\/p>\n<p>New York will finish its season against the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills, both of which gunning for the AFC East title, where the Jets can potentially play spoiler.<\/p>\n<p>Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FoxNewsSports_\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">\u00a0sports coverage on X<\/a>\u00a0and subscribe to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">\u00a0the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! After giving up 48 points to the Jacksonville Jaguars in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,1235,593,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-350820","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-new-york-jets","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}