Jets Request Interview With Daronte Jones in Defensive Coordinator Search

The New York Jets made their first coaching move of the offseason on Thursday, January 8, 2026, by requesting an interview with Minnesota Vikings defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones for their vacant defensive coordinator position.

The opening became available after Jets head coach Aaron Glenn fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after 14 games. Wilks had been Glenn’s hand-picked hire, but the Jets’ defense struggled throughout the season. New York finished ranked 31st in points allowed, giving up 503 points. The Jets forced four turnovers, the fewest in an NFL season, and became the first team in league history to go an entire season without recording an interception. Following Wilks’ dismissal, defensive backs coach Chris Harris was promoted to interim defensive coordinator and is considered a candidate to have the interim tag removed.

The coaching search comes as the Jets enter the second offseason led by Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey after finishing with a league-worst 3–14 record. That context has carried over into the betting market. On one tracked Super Bowl LX futures board, the Jets are listed at +25000 after opening at +8000 when the odds were released in late January. Other sportsbook listings, including odds attributed to BetMGM, still show the Jets at +8000. Despite the long odds, bettors have placed notable wagers, including a $3,196.96 bet on the Jets at 250-1 odds on DraftKings and a $3,000 bet at 200-1 odds on Caesars. Additional futures markets list the Jets at +30000 to win the AFC East and +75000 to win the AFC.

Jones, 47, is currently part of a Minnesota staff that has seen different movements in futures pricing. The Vikings have been listed as short as +2500 on some Super Bowl LX boards after opening at +4000, while other sportsbooks show Minnesota at +3000. The Vikings finished the season as one of the NFL’s top defenses, allowing 282.6 yards per game, forcing a league-high 13 fumbles, and ranking seventh in points allowed at 19.6 per game.

Jones originally joined the Vikings in 2020 as defensive backs coach under then-head coach Mike Zimmer. He left Minnesota ahead of the 2021 season to become LSU’s defensive coordinator. During that season, LSU allowed 377.5 yards per game, ranking 64th among 130 FBS teams, and 26.6 points per game, ranking 70th. The defense primarily operated out of a 4–3 base alignment. After head coach Ed Orgeron was fired, Jones was not retained.

Jones returned to the Vikings in 2022 as defensive backs coach on Kevin O’Connell’s first staff. In 2023, when Brian Flores was hired as defensive coordinator, Jones was promoted to defensive pass game coordinator, a role he has held since. According to FTN Fantasy’s pass-defense DVOA metric, the Vikings ranked 10th in pass defense in 2023 at 1.7 percent, first in 2024 at minus-12.8 percent, and third in 2025 at minus-16.3 percent. In 2025, the Vikings’ defense tallied 8 interceptions and 21 total takeaways (including 13 fumble recoveries) and helped the team limit opponents to 282.6 yards and 19.6 points per game, ranking seventh in points allowed.

Jones has more than 20 years of coaching experience and began his career as a graduate assistant in 2001. His NFL experience also includes time as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Miami Dolphins from 2016 to 2017 and as a cornerbacks coach with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2018 to 2019. He played college football at Morgan State.

Jones’ coaching background includes player development at both the college and professional levels. At LSU in 2021, linebacker Damone Clark earned second-team All-America honors and was a finalist for the Butkus Award. Clark set career highs in solo tackles, sacks, tackles for loss, interceptions, pass deflections, and forced fumbles, led LSU in tackles, and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Through four NFL seasons, Clark has appeared in 55 games with 26 starts. With Jones overseeing the Vikings’ secondary, safety Camryn Bynum recorded 137 tackles in 2023, the most by any defensive back in the NFL that season, along with nine pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions. Cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2024 after posting career highs of 81 tackles, six tackles for loss, six interceptions, and 14 passes defended, joining Marlon Humphrey of the Baltimore Ravens as the only players that season with at least six interceptions and 14 pass breakups.

Jones is widely viewed around the league as Brian Flores’ top assistant and a potential successor should Flores land a head coaching position. His name has surfaced in multiple searches, as he is also scheduled to interview with the Dallas Cowboys for their defensive coordinator vacancy after the team parted ways with Matt Eberflus, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.