Another one bites the dust.
NFL Insider Dianna Russini shared on social media that the “Detroit Lions have reached [an] agreement on a deal to retain assistant coach Jim O’Neil, who interviewed for the [New York] Jets’ defensive coordinator vacancy, per source.”
2 Coaches Have Now Been Eliminated From the Jets’ Search
The Jets interviewed eight people virtually in the first round of its search to find the next defensive coordinator.
Two of them have been eliminated from the race.
O’Neil, 47, had plenty of connections to head coach Aaron Glenn. Glenn was a personnel scout in 2012 when O’Neil was the assistant defensive backs coach with the Jets.
They reunited with the Cleveland Browns for two seasons in 2014 and 2015. O’Neil at the time served as the defensive cooridator and Glenn was the assistant defensive backs coach. That was AG’s first two years in the coaching profession.
When AG landed the DC role with the Lions, he brought O’Neil under him in 2024 as a defensive assistant and safeties coach.
However, they won’t be linking back up in New York with O’Neil agreeing to a new deal with Detroit.
The other coach that was eliminated from the ranks was Mathieu Araujo. He was the Miami Dolphins’ cornerbacks coach when he interviewed for the Jets’ DC job this offseason. However, he took a new gig with the Jacksonville Jaguars on their staff.
That Leaves 6 Possibilities to Become the Next DC of the Jets
The remaining six names that are in consideration include: Cleveland Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda, Green Bay Packers defensive line coach and run game cooridator DeMarcus Covington, Minnesota Vikings defensive pass game coordiator and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones, Denver Broncos assistant head coach and defensive pass game cooridator Jim Leonhard, former Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, and interim Jets DC Chris Harris.
3 in Person Interviews Have Transpired for the Next Round of Jets Interviews
There are three known finalists for the Jets’ vacant DC gig. That group includes, in no particular order: Martindale, Jones, and Harris.
Each person has participated in an in-person interview over the last week. Those were second interviews for each of those people.
There could be additional finalists that weren’t reported publicly as the Jets attempt to keep things in-house this offseason.
The Latest Updates on the Jets’ DC Search
Multiple team insiders have continued to reiterate that Martindale is the favorite to be the next DC of the Jets. Of all of the candidates, Wink is believed to have spoken with AG before any of them about the vacancy before the season was over.
However, of interesting note is the timing of everything.
On Saturday, January 24, ESPN’s Rich Cimini said he wouldn’t be surprised “if a deal is wrapped up within 24 hours” between Wink and the Jets for the DC job.
However, by the time of publication of this article on Monday afternoon, there haven’t been any notable updates on the Wink-Jets potential partnership.
That silence would seemingly indicate that the team is exploring other options on their list.
Lions Coach Eliminated From Jets DC Search, Says Insider