For anyone who has ever seen a football practice, at any level, you know what the “tip drill” is. That’s when a pass is thrown and a player or a coach intentionally tips the pass up in the air and a defensive back gets to the ball and intercepts it. It’s preparation for when that situation comes up in a game, when a quarterback’s pass gets deflected up in the air leading to a pick.
Sometimes a defense can get an interception by accident or just out of pure luck, but this past season, the Jets did not record one interception.
17 games…zero interceptions.
It’s actually quite mind-boggling, and it was unprecedented, as the Jets became the first team in NFL history to go a whole season without a pick.
How is that possible?
“I have no idea,” said former Jets safety Erik Coleman when he joined me recently on my “SportsBash” podcast. “I don’t understand how a defensive lineman didn’t get his hand up and knock the ball out. It’s really incredible.”
Coleman, a fifth-round pick by the Jets in 2004, spent four seasons with Gang Green before going on to play for the Falcons and Lions. During his nine-year NFL career, Coleman recorded eleven interceptions, so the idea of zero interceptions in a season is something that is difficult to digest.
Especially when you consider what happened during Coleman’s second year with the Jets in 2005. That season, the Jets signed veteran cornerback Ty Law to bolster the defense. When he arrived during training camp, he didn’t appear to be ready to make it through a practice.
“He was out of shape and he didn’t do weigh-ins,” recalled Coleman. “He had ten interceptions that year and eight of them were off of tipped passes.”
Those ten interceptions tied him for the most in the NFL that season and Law earned a trip to the Pro Bowl.
So, it’s an incredible feat that the Jets defense couldn’t muster a single interception this past season. But the lack of picks was just part of the Jets' defensive story in 2025.
The defense did not play well as a whole and it ultimate led the Jets trading defensive lineman Quinnen Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner. It also led to a massive exodus of assistant coaches including Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks.
“When you look at the defense, they didn’t play very well,” said Coleman, a part of two playoff teams during his time with the Jets. “The defense has always been the flagship of the Jets. No matter if they win four games or go to the AFC Championship, the Jets always had to have a great defense. When you bring in Aaron Glenn as Head Coach, you expect that, but the defense didn’t play well.”
Glenn certainly suffered through some growing pains in his first year as Head Coach, but he was given the opportunity to hit control-alt-delete on his coaching staff, essentially a do-over. While Glenn will take over the play-calling duties on defense, one of the changes he made to his coaching staff was the hiring of Brian Duker as Defensive Coordinator.
Most rookie coaches going into their second season wouldn’t get a chance to do this after a 4-13 season, but Glenn has put together a new look staff as the Jets hope to right the ship in 2026.
“I do understand that he has to make changes,” said Coleman. “You only really have one opportunity, especially when your team doesn’t play well. I’m positive that the defense is going to get better.”
The Jets have the opportunity to make the defense better with a good amount of cap room and lots of draft picks, including a pair in the first round at No. 2 and No. 16. Between free agency and the draft, General Manager Darren Mougey should be able to provide Glenn with the players that he’ll need to succeed…
…or at least come up with an interception or two.
“It’s a big opportunity for Aaron Glenn to get his type of guys into the room and now you get to do a reset,” said Coleman. “Hopefully they pick up some good free agents and make some great decisions in the draft and put together a good team. That would be great to see.”
But if we don’t see that and the Jets have another horrible season under Glenn, chances are we’ll be having a much different conversation a year from now, because we could be talking about another new regime for Gang Green.