Jets hire former Dolphins assistant Brian Duker as defensive coordinator

By Canadian Press on January 28, 2026.

The New York Jets hired former Miami Dolphins assistant coach Brian Duker as their defensive coordinator on Wednesday.

Duker spent the last two seasons as the Dolphins’ pass game coordinator and secondary coach. He was the ninth and last known candidate to interview for the Jets’ vacancy, and had a video meeting with coach Aaron Glenn on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old Duker has never been a play-caller and it’s expected that Glenn could take a larger role in leading the defense. Glenn was Detroit’s defensive coordinator for four seasons before being hired as head coach by New York last year and has familiarity with Duker.

The two were on Dan Campbell’s Lions staff together for three seasons and Duker worked his way up from defensive assistant (2021), safeties coach (2022) and defensive backs coach (2023) with Glenn as the coordinator.

“During our time in Detroit, Brian consistently demonstrated a high football acumen and an aggressive approach to defense,” Glenn said in a statement issued by the team to announce the hiring. “I’m confident that his energy and knowledge of the game will help elevate our players and push this team forward.”

The move comes a day after the Jets and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand agreed to part ways. Glenn will now focus on finding someone to lead New York’s offense.

Duker replaces Steve Wilks, who was fired late in the season after the Jets defense had a miserable showing in a 3-14 season. Chris Harris, the defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator, served as the interim defensive coordinator for the final three games.

Harris was one of the candidates who interviewed for the job, joining Wink Martindale, Jim Leonhard, Mathieu Araujo, Ephraim Banda, DeMarcus Covington, Daronte Jones and Jim O’Neil. Martindale was the only known candidate to have an in-person interview.

Duker will now be tasked with helping improve a defense that finished among the NFL’s worst in several categories. The Jets became the first team in league history to go without an interception through a season.

Duker, a Baltimore native who attended Towson, began his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at Bryant in 2011 before spending two seasons at Missouri. His first NFL job came as a defensive intern with Cleveland in 2015 on a staff that also included Glenn, who was the assistant secondary/cornerbacks coach.

Duker became a defensive analyst for San Francisco in 2016 and served on then-coach John Harbaugh’s staff in Baltimore from 2018-20 before joining the Lions’ staff.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press

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