Robert Salah was fired as head coach of the New York Jets after a 2-3 start to his fourth season. After back-to-back seven-win seasons and a 20-36 overall record, Saleh was replaced by defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who will try to end the franchise’s 13-year playoff drought.
Then, on Nov. 19, the Jets also fired general manager Joe Douglas. The team was 30-64 in Douglas’ six seasons as the top executive. New York’s .319 winning percentage was the worst of all 32 teams over that span (2019-present).
Given the recent shake-up, here’s a look at the Jets’ coaching staff.
New York Jets Coaching Staff
- Jeff Ulbrich, Interim Head Coach
- Nathaniel Hackett, Offensive Coordinator
- Todd Downing, Passing Game Coordinator
- Keith Carter, Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator
- Tony Dews, Running Backs Coach
- Shawn Jefferson, Wide Receivers Coach
- Ron Middleton, Tight Ends Coach
- Ben Wilkerson, Assistant Offensive Line Coach
- Dan Shamash, Special Teams Assistant/Game Management Coordinator
- Junior Taylor, Offensive Assistant – Fellowship
- Billy Vandemerkt, Offensive Assistant
- Walter Kusmirek, Offensive Assistant
- Aaron Whitecotton, Defensive Line Coach
- Mike Rutenberg, Linebackers Coach
- Marquand Manuel, Defensive Backs Coach/Safeties
- Tony Oden, Senior Defensive Assistant/Cornerbacks
- Shaq Wilson, Assistant Defensive Line Coach
- Nathaniel Willingham, Defensive Backs/Nickelbacks Coach
- Brant Boyer, Special Teams Coordinator
New Additions to the New York Jets Coaching Staff
Entering the season, the Jets slightly tweaked their offensive staff.
While Nathaniel Hackett stays as offensive coordinator, former Liberty University TE and veteran coach Tony Dews took over for Taylor Embree as the Jets’ newest running backs coach.
Dews spent 19 years with various collegiate programs before he became the Tennessee Titans running backs coach in 2018, a position he held through the 2022 season.
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In 2023, he became the Titans tight ends coach before joining the New York Jets in the 2024 offseason. In Dews’ five seasons as the Titans RBs coach, Derrick Henry rushed for over 1,500 yards four times.
Once Ulbrich took over as the team’s interim head coach, he announced that Hackett was stripped of his play-calling duties. Instead, passing game coordinator Todd Downing would call the plays going forward.
The other notable staffing change this season was the hiring of former NFL receiver Shawn Jefferson as New York’s wide receivers coach. The San Diego Charges drafted Jefferson in the ninth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. During his 13-year career, Jefferson also played for the New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, and Detroit Lions.
In 2006, he joined the Lions as an offensive assistant, became the assistant wide receivers coach in 2007, and then took over the coaching role from 2008 until 2012. He has been the wide receivers coach for five other NFL franchises and returns to the Jets for a second stint after being on Adam Gase’s staff from 2019-2020.