The New York Jets have released a list of eight candidates who have interviewed for the team’s vacant defensive coordinator position.
Detroit Lions safeties coach Jim O’Neal was one of eight people on the Jets’ roster to interview for the first game in Washington. O’Neal also earned a defensive assistant title with the Lions in 2025 and spent the past two seasons in Detroit.
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O’Neal, 47, has experience with the Jets, serving as the Jets’ defensive quality control coach in 2009 when New York advanced to the first of back-to-back AFC Championship games.
The Jets entered the 2009 season with the NFL’s No. 1 passing defense (153.7 passing yards per game), total defense (252.3 yards per game) and scoring defense (14.8 points per game).
In Detroit, O’Neal oversaw one of the league’s best safety tandems. In 2024, Kerby Joseph led the NFL with nine interceptions and ended up being named a first-team All-Pro. Brian Branch, meanwhile, earned Pro Bowl honors in 2024 with 109 tackles, 16 passes defended, eight tackles for loss, four interceptions and one sack.
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The Lions have the second-fewest passing touchdowns (18) and the lowest opponent passer rating (82.0) heading into the 2024 season.
O’Neal, of course, was working under then-Lions defensive coordinator and current Jets head coach Aaron Glenn during the 2024 season.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Detroit Lions safeties coach interviews New York Jets for DC job