New York Jets Complete Their Coaching Staff
The New York Jets announced on Thursday that they have officially completed their coaching staff for the 2026 NFL season. The team put out a post that they had filled out their defensive staff with the hirings of defensive assistant Collin Bauer, linebacker coach Ben Bolling, defensive assistant/nickels coach Ronald Booker, and safeties coach Ryan Slowik. Slowik, the brother of Dolphins’ offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, was reported to be coming aboard previously, but the announcement makes it official.
Ben Bolling is an intriguing hire, as he spent a long time working as an assistant linebackers coach for the Houston Texans before taking the job with the Jets. The Texans’ defense was arguably the best unit in the entire NFL in 2025, and were no slouches the last couple of years, either. With Aaron Glenn calling the defensive plays and overall having a more hands-on approach with that side of the ball in 2026, him hiring members off of staffs that have already shown success is good process, if nothing else. The Jets’ linebackers were arguably the worst position group on a horrendous unit overall, so it’ll be hard to get worse from the year before, but Bolling, with an assumed infusion of talent from free agency and the draft, is expected to get much more out of this unit than in 2025.
There seems to be an overall trend with this coaching staff, and it’s up-and-comers on the defensive side of the ball, while getting experience on the offensive side. The approach makes sense, with Aaron Glenn wanting to be more involved with his side of the ball, he needs less help from veterans. He’s pretty much been there, done that throughout his coaching career. On the offensive side of the ball, he wants as many adults as possible. The Frank Reich hire was made for one reason: experience. Glenn had expressed wanting a head coach of the offense to take care of things and stabilize the team, and the hires on that side since Reich took over has reflected that. Hiring Bill Musgrave, a proven quarterbacks coach who has worked with the position for years, further adds adults to the room. It’s an understandable approach for a team that experienced so much dysfunction a year before, but only time will tell if it works.
