The New York Jets’ search for a new defensive coordinator is officially underway.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets have requested to interview Minnesota Vikings defensive pass-game coordinator and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones for the vacancy.

Jets have requested to interview Vikings passing game coordinator/DB coach Daronte Jones for their defensive coordinator position.

Jones is also slated to interview with the Cowboys for their DC position as well. pic.twitter.com/S6LGw0m7uU

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 9, 2026

Jones, 47, joined the Vikings’ coaching staff in 2020 as a defensive backs coach before leaving the organization a year later and taking LSU’s DC job.

After he went one-and-done in Baton Rouge as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, he returned in 2022, where he picked up the same title. In 2023, he was promoted to defensive pass-game coordinator, a role he has held for three full years.

The 47-year-old is Brian Flores’ right-hand man in Minnesota. So much so that Jones is widely viewed as the successor if Flores lands a head coaching job this cycle.

Under Jones’ watch in 2024, the Vikings led the league in interceptions (24), passes defensed (95), and interceptions per attempt (3.8%), while tying for the league lead in takeaways (33).

In 2025, the Jets became the first team in NFL history to go a full season without an interception since the league began tracking statistics in 1993, while they logged just four total takeaways, the fewest in the league.

While Minnesota regressed overall this season, evidenced by their drop from 13 to nine wins, Jones’ secondary still ranked third in pass-defense DVOA.

“I want to make sure that whoever the guy that we do have in, there’s a lot of synergy between that coach and me,” Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said earlier this week, regarding what he is looking for in the team’s next defensive coordinator. “And I’m not saying there wasn’t synergy between (Steve) Wilks and me, it’s just I want to make sure, as I go through this process, that that’s a step that I don’t miss.

“I want to make sure that it’s collaborative between all of us, and we just want to get the best guy,” he concluded.

With the search officially underway, who the New York Jets hire to be the team’s next DC will play a pivotal role in their approach to rebuilding a struggling defense this offseason.