After a brutal 3-14 finish to the 2025 season, Aaron Glenn isn’t wasting any time reshaping the Jets’ coaching staff. With a defense that collapsed down the stretch and an offense that never found its footing, sweeping changes were inevitable-and now they’re underway.
Among the first moves: Glenn has parted ways with six members of his staff. Quarterbacks coach Charles London, defensive line coach Eric Washington, linebackers coach Aaron Curry, passing game coordinator Scott Turner, and defensive assistants Alonso Escalante and Roosevelt Williams are all out, according to a source.
The housecleaning comes on the heels of a disastrous final stretch in which the Jets were outscored 188-54 over their last five games. That’s not just bad-it’s historically bad.
The defense, once expected to be a strength, finished 25th in total yards allowed (355.6 per game) and 31st in points surrendered (29.6 per game). The low point came in Week 15, when Jacksonville torched them for 48 points, prompting Glenn to fire then-defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.
Offensively, things weren’t much better. The Jets ranked 29th in both total yards (263.6 per game) and scoring (17.6 points per game). Simply put, they were among the league’s worst on both sides of the ball-and the numbers back it up.
Now comes the rebuild, and one of the biggest pieces might be falling into place. Wink Martindale, a veteran defensive mind with a reputation for aggressive, playmaking defenses, is flying in for an in-person interview this weekend. This marks his second meeting with the team, and signs point to him being the frontrunner for the Jets’ vacant defensive coordinator position.
Martindale brings seven years of NFL defensive coordinator experience, having led units in Denver, Baltimore, and most recently, the Giants. In 2023, his Giants defense tied for the league lead in takeaways with 31-a stark contrast to the Jets’ league-low four turnovers in 2025. That kind of turnaround in opportunistic defense is exactly what Glenn and the Jets are hoping to replicate.
After his time in the NFL, Martindale spent the past two seasons at Michigan, coordinating a defense under head coach Sherrone Moore. Now, at 62, he’s poised for a return to the pros, and the Jets may be just the challenge he’s looking for.
The Jets have cast a wide net in their search for a new defensive leader. In addition to Martindale, they’ve interviewed eight other candidates: interim coordinator Chris Harris, who stepped in after Wilks’ departure; Jim Leonhard, who served as the team’s defensive pass game coordinator and assistant head coach; Daronte Jones from Minnesota; Ephraim Banda from Cleveland; Mathieu Araujo from Miami; Jim O’Neil from Detroit; and DeMarcus Covington from Green Bay.
But Martindale’s track record-and his ability to squeeze turnovers out of his defenses-makes him a compelling option. For a team that desperately needs an identity on defense, he could be the spark they’ve been missing.
The Jets are in full reset mode, and Aaron Glenn is clearly not afraid to make bold moves. After a season where both sides of the ball failed to meet expectations, these changes aren’t just cosmetic-they’re foundational. The next few weeks will be critical as the Jets try to build a staff capable of turning things around in 2026.