Jets Request DC Interview With Vikings’ Daronte Jones

Chris Harris replaced Steve Wilks as the Jets defensive coordinator late in the season and will have an opportunity to retain his role. However, that won’t stop Aaron Glenn from considering other options for the job. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets have requested an interview with Vikings passing game coordinator/DB coach Daronte Jones.

The 47-year-old coach has bounced around a bit in recent years. He had two-year coaching stints with the Dolphins and Bengals before his first stint in Minnesota in 2020. After serving as the Vikings defensive backs coach under Mike Zimmer for one season, Jones left to become LSU’s defensive coordinator in 2021.

Brian Kelly ended up not keeping him around for a second season, and Jones ended up returning to the Vikings on Kevin O’Connell‘s staff. Jones spent one year as the DBs coach before earning a promotion to defensive pass game coordinator in 2023.

The coach has been involved in the DC cycle for the past few offseasons. He interviewed for the Giants job in 2024, and he was a candidate for the Bears, Jaguars, and Saints gigs in 2025. We heard earlier tonight that the Cowboys had also requested permission to interview him for their defensive coordinator job, and there have been rumblings that he could just earn a promotion to the role in Minnesota if Brian Flores ends up leaving.

Harris only had a brief stint as the Jets interim DC, and he didn’t build much of a case to keep the job in 2026. The Jets gave up 35 first-half points to the Patriots in Week 17 before allowing a Bills team without Josh Allen to score 35 in the regular season finale.