Jets Urged To Part Ways With Steve Wilks After First Year

The New York Jets entered the 2025 season with the expectation that the defense would be a strength.

While there has been progression throughout the season, even with Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams gone, the defense overall hasn’t been as expected coming into the season. To be fair, again, there has been progress. New York has allowed 25.6 points per game in five games since the trade deadline. That's slightly better than before the deadline, when the Jets gave up 27.6 points per game in their first eight games.

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When you look at the Jets' defense overall, New York currently is 16th in the league in average total yards allowed per game at (329.6). The passing defense has been actually really good. New York has allowed the eighth-fewest passing yards per game at (190.2). While this is the case, the Jets have allowed the third-most rushing yards per game at 139.5. New York also has allowed the sixth-most points per game at 26.8.

Should the Jets make a change in the offseason?

Jun 11, 2025; Florham Park, NY, USA; New York Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks speaks at a press conference during minicamp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Because of this, Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post weighed in and suggested that the Jets should move on from defensive coordinator Steve Wiks after the season.

"Hopefully, Steve Wilks is renting," Cannizzaro wrote. "Commonplace in the coaching business is transience. But the Jets defensive coordinator’s 20-year coaching career has taken transient to another level. Dating back to his first coaching job in 1995 at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., Wilks has had 20 jobs in college and the NFL and in 15 of them he lasted only one year.

"Based on the Jets’ poor defensive showing this season across the board, barring an unexpected turn for the better in the next four games, Wilks appears headed toward the 16th one-and-done of his nomadic coaching career."

The idea is fair. New York is 3-10 and the defense hasn't been as good as expected. With a record like that, some changes should be made. But when you look at the defense, the most shocking stat isn't even one listed above. New York has just two takeaways this season. That's the kicker. The New York Giants and Washington Commanders are the next-closest teams to the Jets with seven takeaways. These are the only three teams in the league with under 10 takeaways.

There's an argument that if the Jets even had 10 takeaways, this defense would look a lot better. The Jets are really good against the pass, but can't get off the field. Takeaways aren't predictable, but the lack of them arguably is the biggest thing bringing the defense down this season. New York has shown that it can improve throughout the season. The passing defense likely is the biggest pro for Wilks to stay, while there are cons as well.

At the end of the day, the Jets are a 3-10 football and their defense hasn't been great for the most part. If that leads to a change, that makes sense.

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