Aaron Glenn made it clear at his introductory news conference: He wants to be the CEO of this Jets team. That means leaving the offense, defense, and special teams to his coordinators. That makes those he hired for those roles among his most important decisions.
The Jets, officially, have those three men signed in Tanner Engstrand, Steve Wilks, and Chris Banjo.
Here are a couple quick thoughts on those additions.
Tanner Engstrand, offensive coordinator
Multiple sources told SNY that Nick Caley was Glenn’s first choice for the job. He’s believed to be the next offensive genius off the Sean McVay (Rams) coaching tree. The Jets were not the only team interested in his services for that reason. Caley, who worked under old friend Mike LaFleur, let the Jets know he wasn’t interested in their vacancy, which led them to Engstrand. Caley eventually took the job with the Texans.
Engstrand isn’t a bad consolation prize. His background is in the West Coast offense, but spent the last three years working with Ben Johnson. Marrying the two offensive philosophies could give the Jets an innovative offense not seen in years.
An important non-coordinator hire: Scott Turner. The Jets hired him as their passing game coordinator. Engstrand has no NFL coordinator or play calling experience. Turner does. He’ll be a nice sounding board for Engstrand. It’s the setup the Jets originally envisioned with LaFleur and Greg Knapp before Knapp tragically passed away.
Steve Wilks, defensive coordinator
It’s hard to be a first-time head coach. It’s harder to be a first-time head coach in New York where everything you do is overanalyzed. Glenn understands the market having played for the Jets, but there’s still some risk in having never been in the big chair before.
Wilks is an important hire for that reason. The 55-year-old began his NFL coaching career in 2006. He’s served as a coordinator three times (Panthers in 2017, Browns in 2019, 49ers in 2023). Just as important, though, is his time as a head coach. The Cardinals named him their head coach in 2018. The Panthers named him their interim coach in 2022. Glenn now has someone on staff he can go to help navigate the instability often associated with the job.
The Jets ran Robert Saleh’s defense the last four years. Its base dates back to the old Seahawks, Legion of Boom days. Wilks, like Saleh, uses a 4-3. Different than Saleh, though, is an increase in man coverage and far more blitzing.
Chris Banjo, special teams coordinator
It will be a little strange not seeing Brant Boyer on the Jets sideline anymore. He survived the Todd Bowles, Adam Gase, and Saleh regimes. His units were always good and, when given players to work with, great.
Banjo replaces Boyer. He makes his way to New York from Denver, where he was an assistant special teams coach. He played in the NFL from 2013 through 2022. Banjo earned rave reviews from those he spent time with in Denver.
The Broncos finished 2024 with the eighth-highest special teams grade, per ProFootballFocus. They were 11th the year before.
Marvin Mims and Tremon Smith combined to average 28.0 yards per kick return, and Mims averaged 15.7 per punt.