Jets' Aaron Glenn reveals why defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was fired

Matt Sullivan

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Jets' Aaron Glenn reveals why defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was fired image

After allowing the Jacksonville Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence to put up 48 points in Week 15, the New York Jets have seen enough from this defense.

Head coach Aaron Glenn announced that defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was fired on Monday morning. The struggles of the defense were too much, and Glenn is making a change.

During the announcement from Glenn that Wilks was fired, the Jets' rookie head coach revealed the reasoning behind the big decision after a brutal Week 15 game.

Jets' Aaron Glenn reveals why DC Steve Wilks was fired

The defense has struggled a lot for Wilks and the Jets this season, and Glenn, after evaluating the performance from Week 15, decided to part ways with Wilks.

"I relieved Steve Wilks of his duties this morning," Glenn announced. "This decision that I made late last night, I talked to him this morning. I felt like it was the best decision for our organization at this time. And I've said this all along, I'm evaluating coaches, I'm evaluating players, I'm evaluating myself, and I just felt like this was the best decision for right now, for the team and the organization."

While Glenn didn't go into specifics as to why Wilks was fired from his role as the defensive coordinator, he did allude to this move being in the Jets' best interests in the short and long term.

Glenn's decision to fire Wilks came after one of the worst defensive performances of the season. A 48-point blowout by the Jaguars was the last straw for Glenn, and Wilks was fired from his defensive coordinator position.

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The Jets' defense this season is allowing the third-most points per game, with opposing teams scoring 28.4 points per game. While it's still two points fewer than the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys, it's significantly worse than the rest of the league.

Their 337.4 yards allowed per game is the 13th worst in the NFL, and while it's not the worst number, yards allowed can be deceiving depending on shorter field positioning due to poor offensive and special teams.

But the overall defense has struggled too much for Glenn. Especially with the defense yet to force an interception all season, this decision to part ways with Wilks was an expected one at some point this season, if not in the offseason.

The Jets will hand duties to Chris Harris for the rest of the year, and Glenn, the Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator most recently, will help with game-planning for the final three weeks of the regular season.

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Staff Writer