Story byJosh Helmer, Lions WireSat, January 17, 2026 at 5:55 PM UTC·1 min readThe New York Jets revealed a list of eight candidates that have interviewed for the franchise's vacant defensive coordinator post. Detroit Lions safeties coach Jim O'Neil was among the Jets' list of eight that have interviewed for their DC opening. O'Neil, who also added the defensive assistant title with the Lions in 2025, has been with Detroit each of the past two seasons. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementO'Neil, 47, has worked in the Jets organization before, serving as the Jets' defensive quality control coach in 2009 when New York advanced to the first of what would be back-to-back AFC Championship games. The Jets boasted 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) during that 2009 campaign. In Detroit, O'Neil has overseen one of the league's best safety tandems.
