The Jets have completed an interview with Joe Whitt Jr. for their head-coaching post.
Serving as the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, Whitt oversaw a unit that finished No. 3 in passing (189.5 yds/g) , No. 5 in sacks/pass attempt (8.67) and No. 13 in yards/game (326.9) in the regular season. In Washington's 23-20 win at Tampa on Wild Card Weekend, Whitt's unit held the Buccaneers to 284 yards.
"Everybody plays together," Whitt said in an article recently published on by Tyler Dunne on GoLong. "And that's what I'm most proud of with this unit. We run. We play hard. We hit. We're a good tackling team. We're a good tackling team because we're connected to each other and you'll see."
Before joining Dan Quinn's staff in Washington, Whitt was the Dallas Cowboys secondary/defensive passing game coordinator from 2021-23. During that timeframe with Quinn as Dallas' DC, Whitt's unit led the NFL with 59 INTs.
A walk-on at Auburn, Whitt played wide receiver and earned a scholarship before graduating in 2001 with a degree in communications. Whitt coached receivers at the Citadel in 2002, cornerbacks at Louisville from 2003-06 and then entered the NFL as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007. After one season as the Green Bay Packers defensive quality coach in 2008, Whitt was Green Bay's cornerbacks coach from 2009-17. He finished his stint in Green Bay as the pass game coordinator in 2018. He helped the Packers win Super Bowl LXV and he led a defensive backfield that had an NFL-high 176 INTs over nine seasons. Whitt also held pass game coordinator/secondary coach titles with the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and the Atlanta Falcons in 2020.
Jets Chairman Woody Johnson is leading the searches for a head coach and general manager. He hired The 33rd Team in a support role to help identify and vet candidates in addition to coordinate interviews.
For a full list of the head coaching and general manager candidates the Jets have interviewed, click here.
