The New York Jets\u2019 search for a defensive coordinator is ongoing.<\/p>\n
Recently, the team announced eight candidates<\/a> who had interviewed for the position. Further reports indicated that Michigan\u2019s Wink Martindale is considered a \u201cfront-runner\u201d<\/a> in the race, while the Jets\u2019 interim defensive coordinator, Chris Harris, became the first candidate to receive a second interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n As head coach Aaron Glenn continues his search, here is the most glaring misconception going around.<\/p>\n \u201cChris Harris is a poor candidate\u201d<\/p>\n With no experience as a defensive play-caller at any level and brutal production from his Jets position group in 2025, it\u2019s understandable why Harris is viewed by some as a weak candidate.<\/p>\n Brought aboard as the Jets\u2019 defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator in 2025, Harris oversaw a unit that had zero interceptions and finished last in pass defense DVOA. Over his three-game stint as the interim defensive coordinator, the Jets\u2019 defense only got worse.<\/p>\n However, it would be unfair to use the Jets\u2019 2025 results as a definitive indictment on Harris\u2019 coaching skills.<\/p>\n Harris was third in line among the Jets\u2019 coaches with their fingerprints on the defense. New York had a defensive-minded head coach and a veteran defensive coordinator who called the defensive plays.<\/p>\n If we\u2019re going to claim Glenn and Wilks deserved to be canned for their roles in New York\u2019s historically poor defensive performance, it would be somewhat unfair to push the same degree of criticism all the way down to a position coach, whose job is to teach the philosophies and schemes established by the men above him on the coaching ladder.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say Harris is absolved of the Jets\u2019 woes against the pass, but the fact is, we simply do not know what his role was. We know that Glenn and Wilks deserve blame; they are the heads of the snake (I suppose it\u2019s a hydra in this scenario). Harris, though, might be a solid coach who was made to look bad by poor work from his higher-ups and poor talent within his unit.<\/p>\n The \u201cbest\u201d player in New York\u2019s 2025 secondary was cornerback Brandon Stephens, who allowed the second-most yards of any cornerback in the NFL the year before he came to the Jets (and an 8:0 TD:INT ratio in 2025). After Stephens, the lineup was littered with young players who were taken after the second round.<\/p>\n As a collective unit, the Jets\u2019 defense was atrocious, and there is no excuse for that. Glenn and Wilks deserve blame for their poor schemes and predictable play-calling; zero interceptions and a 32nd-ranked pass defense are inexcusable, no matter the talent level. These are the NFL players, and if the scheme\/play-calling is good enough, it is always possible to field a unit that is at least semi-respectable (rather than record-settingly bad), even if there will be a capped ceiling due to the talent.<\/p>\n But it isn\u2019t exactly fair to blame a position coach for failing to work any player-development magic with a group that does not feature any particularly special talents. The only remotely impressive talent in the Jets\u2019 secondary was rookie third-round pick Azareye\u2019h Thomas, and he was actually progressing quite nicely during his brief stretch as a healthy starter.<\/p>\n If the Jets believe in Harris as a man and coach, he deserves as fair a shot at the job as anyone.<\/p>\n Now, does that mean Jets fans should trust Glenn\u2019s judgment in the event that he hires Harris?<\/p>\n