Nov 12, 2025; Madrid, Spain; Miami Dolphins helmets on the field during practice at Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jets Continue DC Search With AFC East Rival

Originally posted on New York Jets on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 16, 2026 3:16 PM ET

The New York Jets have been looking to fill their vacant defensive coordinator position but things have been eerily quiet.

Last offseason, it seemed like each day a different reported head coach or general manager target popped up. This offseason, things have been much quieter. On Jan. 8, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Jets requested permission to interview Minnesota Vikings passing game coordinator/DB coach Daronte Jones along with the Dallas Cowboys.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

"Jets have requested to interview Vikings passing game coordinator/DB coach Daronte Jones for their defensive coordinator position," Schefter wrote on X. "Jones is also slated to interview with the Cowboys for their DC position as well."

The Jets' search has begun

There hasn't really been much reported on that front since. But, Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post reported on Friday that the Jets interviewed Miami Dolphins defensive backs coach Matt Araujo for the open job.

"Jets interviewed Dolphins DB coach Matt Araujo for their vacant DC position according to league source," Schad wrote on X.

One thing Aaron Glenn said last offseason after being hired as the team's head coach was how he wanted the franchise to move in silence. Outside of Justin Fields, most of the free agents the Jets signed last year, there weren't rumors ahead of time. Just an announcement after a deal got done. The same could be said of Sauce Gardner when he got traded to the Indianapolis Colts. Who saw that coming? Not many people. But that's the team has been operating since Glenn and Darren Mougey so it's not the most shocking thing that there hasn't been much noise out there.

But Araujo is an intriguing option. He's already in the AFC East. He joined the Dolphins in 2022 as an assistant defensive backs coach and then was promoted to cornerbacks coach in 2024, per his official bio from the Dolphins.

He has four years of coaching experience in the National Football League and seven years of collegiate coaching experience. As of writing, a deal hasn't gotten done, but the search has officially begun.

This article first appeared on New York Jets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: