Jets reportedly hiring ex-Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks as next defensive coordinator

Steve Wilks is back in the game.

The longtime defensive assistant and former Arizona Cardinals head coach struck a deal to become the next defensive coordinator with the New York Jets on Wednesday afternoon, according to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Wilks, who took last year off from coaching, will now join Aaron Glenn’s staff.

Glenn was hired as the next head coach of the Jets earlier this month after a four-year run as the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator. The Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh in the middle of last season. Glenn said earlier this week that he will not call defensive plays, so that will presumably fall to Wilks.

Though Wilks didn’t work in the league last season, he’s been an assistant across the NFL for decades. After a long run working his way up to defensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers, Wilks was hired as the head coach of the Cardinals to replace Bruce Arians in 2018.

He lasted just a single season and went 3-13, but returned to work as a defensive coordinator in multiple spots, including at Missouri, before his most recent stint with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. Wilks, after the 49ers reached Super Bowl LVIII under his watch, was fired by the organization after the game. Wilks briefly served as the Panthers’ interim head coach in 2022, going 6-6.

Wilks will now join the Jets, who are attempting to reset once again after their 5-12 campaign this past year. The team has not been to the playoffs since the 2010 season and has one winning record, but now five different head coaches, since then. With both Wilks and Glenn leading the way, the Jets are sure to make a significant jump on that side of the ball this fall.

While the Jets still need to find an offensive coordinator, Glenn’s staff is now nearly complete.