This is one in a series of articles that will also appear in the New York Jets 2025 Yearbook, which will be published later this summer.
Aaron Glenn, early in his first year as head coach of the Jets, stressed the importance of special teams and placed the onus on new coordinator Chris Banjo to guide the unit.
"There was no doubt in my mind that Chris would be a coach one day," Glenn said. "I believe in the importance of special teams and I think there's no better person for this job than him."
Banjo, who turned 35 in January, is the second-youngest special team coordinator in the NFL. He played 10 years in the league for three different teams.
"It's been a blessing, honestly, to be hired" he said. "It's been a whirlwind, too. I am just fortunate to be able to be a part of this transition."
Banjo made his coaching debut for Denver in 2023 as an assistant special teams coach, 11 seasons after Jets GM Darren Mougey began his NFL career as a scouting intern for the same team. In '24, the Broncos were eighth in fewest total kick return yards allowed.
Banjo's group will look very different from the one Jets fans had become used to.
During the offseason, the team released P Thomas Morstead and K Greg Zuerlein. The team added veteran free agent P Austin McNamara, veteran K Harrison Mevis @ and two undrafted rookies, K Caden Davis and P Kai Kroeger.
"We're very fortunate to have a lot of very talented young guys as a part of these competitions," Banjo said. "The biggest thing we've been harping on is just being consistent."
Irvin Charles, Isaiah Davis and Marcelino McCrary-Ball, who each had seven ST tackles last season, will lead the coverage units into training camp and will be joined by free agent Kris Boyd, who had seven tackles for Houston. As for the returner position, Xavier Gipson led the NFL in 2023-24 combined with 105 total kick returns (66 punts, 39 kickoffs) and 1,585 total return yards. Banjo is also impressed with the return potential of fourth-round rookie WR Arian Smith.
"It's just competitive as hell," Banjo said of his specialists. "Sometimes I like to call it a lost art because not many organizations really emphasize it. But I think we're very fortunate to have a head coach who really believes in the approach of special teams."
