The New York Jets’ search for a new defensive coordinator is officially over.
After interviewing nine candidates for the role, the team hired 36-year-old Brian Duker as their DC for the 2026 season.
“During our time in Detroit, Brian consistently demonstrated a high-football acumen and an aggressive approach to defense,” Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said of the hiring, per the team’s official website. “I’m confident that his energy and knowledge of the game will help elevate our players and push this team forward.”
While Glenn has drawn criticism for his recent coaching-staff decisions, he deserves credit for this hire.
Why Aaron Glenn deserves praise for the Brian Duker hire
Duker, 36, spent the last two seasons in Miami, serving as the Dolphins’ secondary coach and defensive pass-game coordinator.
Prior to his time with the Dolphins, Duker overlapped with Glenn in Detroit, where Glenn was the Lions’ DC. Duker served as an assistant on Glenn’s staff from 2021-23.
Duker is not a “big name,” nor was he a widely anticipated candidate, especially given that the Jets announced his interview less than 24 hours before he was hired.
In the Jets’ case, that is not a bad thing. If anything, it is a positive.
Yes, the Jets’ defensive coordinator job was not particularly attractive. There is a reason the team was unable to land top candidates such as Jim Leonhard, Jonathan Gannon, and Christian Parker, among others.
This time, however, Glenn took the right approach in his search for a defensive coordinator, learning from last offseason’s Steve Wilks hire that unraveled during the season.
Instead of hiring a well-known candidate whose style doesn’t fit the modern-day NFL (cough, cough, Wink Martindale), Glenn decided to take a flyer on a young, up-and-coming coach who shares a similar schematic vision.
Hiring a coach like Martindale would have suggested Glenn learned nothing from the failed Wilks experiment.
Duker may not be thrown into the fire right away. Given that he has no play-calling experience, Glenn could call defensive plays in 2026, giving the former Lions assistant more time to adjust to his new role.
While fans should not do a full 180 on their view of Glenn’s future as head coach, this hire signals a promising shift and indicates he has learned from mistakes made during his first offseason as the team’s commander-in-chief.
