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Steve Wilks was fired just after Jets head coach Aaron Glenn claimed he would not demote him
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- Steve Wilks was fired just after Jets head coach Aaron Glenn claimed he would not demote him
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The New York Jets hit a new low in their 48-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars , and Aaron Glenn didn't try to dress it up. The first-year head coach, hired for his defensive reputation, watched Trevor Lawrence hang six total touchdowns on his team and admitted afterward that the performance was "very disappointing on a number of levels."
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For a franchise that just tore down its roster at the deadline and is clearly pointed at 2026, this kind of noncompetitive outing still stings.
Asked if that kind of beating might prompt a change on the headset, Glenn initially shut that door, backing his coordinator publicly.
As Zack Rosenblatt reported, Glenn said after the game that he was not taking play-calling away from defensive coordinator Steve Wilks , explaining, "We brought Wilks in for a reason. I want him to run his system."
However, that show of support proved short-lived. Later Monday, Glenn announced that Wilks had been relieved of his duties and that defensive backs coach Chris Harris would take over as interim defensive coordinator, per Rosenblatt.
That reversal comes against the backdrop of an organization that already gutted its defense midseason.
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The Jets shipped out stars like Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline, collecting picks and a couple of players but stripping away the core of what had been the team's identity. Jacksonville wasted no time taking advantage, marching up and down the field while the Jets' rebuilt unit failed to offer real resistance.
Offensively, undrafted rookie Brady Cook was thrown into the fire and, for a while, handled it better than expected. With Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor both injured, Cook opened 6-of-8 for 51 yards and a nine-yard touchdown to Adonai Mitchell , already eclipsing Fields' passing yardage from three separate starts this season.
The game quickly got away, but this stretch is effectively an extended audition for Cook as he tries to prove he belongs somewhere in the Jets' 2026 plans.
Glenn's postgame comments suggested he wanted to ride out the storm with Wilks, but less than a day later, he made the toughest call a defensive head coach can make and changed play-callers.
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The Jets may still be committed to the long-term rebuild, yet handing the headset to Harris is the clearest sign that 48-20 wasn't just another loss. They need to rebuild and start it as soon as possible.
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Related: Jets' Aaron Glenn states the obvious after brutal showing against Jaguars
