Aaron Glenn recently completed his first season as the head coach of the New York Jets, as he looks to put his stamp on the struggling franchise. His first year came with plenty of adversity, including firing defensive coordinator Steve Wilks before its conclusion. He is reportedly interested in hiring Wink Martindale to replace him, but one NFL analyst has a major issue with his candidacy.
Aaron Glenn Criticized for Considering Wink Martindale As New Jets DC
Glenn hired Wilks to serve as the Jets’ defensive coordinator after spending a year away from the NFL. Their partnership didn’t even last a whole year, as he was fired during the 2025 NFL season. The head coach is now tasked with finding a replacement, and apparently, Martindale is one of his top candidates.
It was recently reported that Martindale will be traveling to New York for a second interview regarding the potential filling of the vacant role. NFL analyst Connor Rogers reacted to the story by explaining why he disagrees with the idea of the Jets theoretically hiring him and pointed out how they could be making a similar mistake as last year’s hire.
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“Don’t understand Glenn’s process with this one. Just failed with Wilks, an experienced DC that had been trending downward for a bit and out of the NFL before being hired. Scheme aside, that is exactly what Wink is right now. Sure, it’s not a desirable opening compared to the rest of the market, but a younger option with higher variance would make more sense,” stated Rogers.
Don’t understand Glenn’s process with this one.
Just failed with Wilks, an experienced DC that had been trending downward for a bit + out of the NFL before being hired.
Scheme aside, that is exactly what Wink is right now.
Sure – not a desirable opening compared to the rest of… https://t.co/kYvrfvSv3T
— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) January 24, 2026
Martindale built a reputation for being an elite defensive coordinator during his four years in the position with the Baltimore Ravens. He was then hired to fill the same role for the New York Giants, but was relatively unimpressive in his two seasons there. They finished just 18th and 25th in PFSN’s Impact Rankings for defenses in those two years. His dominant Ravens defense finished seventh or better three times in his four seasons there.
He left the NFL in 2024 after his run with the Giants and has been the Michigan Wolverines’ defensive coordinator in college football since then. He could apparently be nearing a return, with Glenn’s interest in making him the Jets’ defensive coordinator, despite the concerns Rogers raised. He feels he’s too similar to Wilks in outlook, which could be an issue, especially for a rebuilding team.
