Five things to know about Brian Duker, the new defensive coordinator of the Jets and head coach Aaron Glenn:

Some Key Connections
Duker has AG and AFC East connections over the past 11 seasons. His first NFL coaching gig was as a Cleveland defensive intern in 2015, where Glenn had just begun his coaching career as the Browns' assistant DBs coach. Both coached that one year on former Jets DC Mike Pettine's Browns staff.

Duker was a defensive assistant, then safeties coach, then DBs coach for Detroit under Glenn, then the Lions' defensive coordinator, from 2021-23. The past two seasons he was the defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach for the Jets' AFC East rivals, the Dolphins.

You get a hint of Duker's enthusiasm for how he described his hiring by the Lions in '21: "This role for me is a ton a fun, the most fun I've ever had coaching football." Think of the fun he'll be experiencing in the months ahead as the Jets' DC.

Some Numbers Speak Volumes
Something that Glenn certainly remembered from Duker's last season in Detroit was that as the DBs coach, he found ways to make the ball come to his backs. The Lions were one of only four NFL teams in 2023 to have at least three defenders with at least 3 interceptions. Two of those three for the Lions were safeties, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, and the third was CB Jerry Jacobs.

(Among the other three teams to reach that statistical achievement in '23 was the Jets with Jordan Whitehead, Tony Adams and Ashtyn Davis each notching 3-plus picks.)

Rankings from South Florida
Miami had issues on both sides of the ball this past season that led to the Dolphins relieving HC Mike McDaniel of his command. But the 'Fins had a top-10 defensive season in '23 that speaks more to Duker's skills as pass game coordinator. His pass defense finished the season No. 9 in the NFL, contributing to Miami coming in at No. 4 in total yards allowed and No. 10 in scoring defense.

The Importance of Continuing Education
Duker has always been about education, a key ingredient in becoming a successful DC as well as having success in any walk of life. He didn't play at Towson in Maryland but was a four-year student assistant and off the field was a dual major in economics and sports management in gaining his bachelor's degree there. Then he moved to Bryant University in Rhode Island, where his first coaching job was as a graduate assistant/defense and from where he also earned his MBA with a general business focus.

"I don't really use either of those right now," he told Tim Twentyman of his degrees in the DetroitLions.com senior writer's June 2022 episode of the web show Twentyman in the Huddle, "But they're fun to have."

More on His AG Connection
"AG was awesome, even in my short time where we just overlapped for one year in Cleveland," Duker told Twentyman of his working relationship with Glenn. "I have a ton of respect for him, obviously the kind of person he is, the kind of football coach he is. I knew he'd be successful as a defensive coordinator. As soon as he and I talked, I was very excited about the opportunity to come here and work under him."

Similar sentiments will be said again by Duker when Glenn and the Jets introduce him as the Green & White's new defensive coordinator.