As Jets head coach Aaron Glenn continues to shuffle his staff in Year 2, he added a pair of former Steelers staffers freed up by expiring contracts and the departure of Mike Tomlin from Pittsburgh. He also looked at an internal candidate to fill a vacant role on his defensive staff.
On Wednesday, New York announced that Karl Dunbar would be trading out his black and yellow for green and white as the Jets’ new defensive line coach. Dunbar should be fairly familiar with the role, considering he held it from 2012-14. In addition to his two stints with the Jets, the veteran 58-year-old assistant has held DL coaching roles with college powerhouses LSU and Alabama and the Bears, Vikings, Bills, and Steelers in the NFL.
A five-year stint in Minnesota saw him build the “Williams Wall,” coaching interior defenders Kevin Williams and Pat Williams on the league’s best run defense for three straight seasons. Arriving in Pittsburgh the year after Cameron Heyward‘s first first-team All-Pro season, Dunbar’s defensive lines with the Steelers became notorious for bringing pressure as other contributors like Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt, Chris Wormley, Keeanu Benton, and Derrick Harmon all scheduled frequent meetings at the quarterback over his eight-year tenure.
Joining Dunbar in the trip from Pittsburgh is tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts who, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, will be assuming the same role in New York. Roberts started his coaching career working two years at FAU as running backs coach and spending two more with the Owls coaching wide receivers. After that, apart from a single 2016 season in which he coached tight ends at Indiana’s high school powerhouse Carmel, the 60-year-old assistant has enjoyed a 22-year career as an NFL coach. Aside from a three-year stint as a running backs coach with the Chargers, his NFL career has been spent solely as a tight ends coach with stops at Jacksonville, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh.
He’s coached such veterans as Marcedes Lewis in Jacksonville, Kellen Winslow in both Cleveland and Tampa Bay, Dallas Clark, Coby Fleener, and Dwayne Allen in Indianapolis, Hunter Henry in Los Angeles, and Eric Ebron, Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, and Jonnu Smith in Pittsburgh. He’ll take over a position room that should return talented rookie Mason Taylor in 2026.
Lastly in New York, as the Jets looks to replace linebackers coach Aaron Curry, one of several departures shortly after the end of the 2025 season, Glenn has opted to interview Nathaniel Willingham for a potential promotion, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The son of storied collegiate head coach Tyrone Willingham, Nathaniel first came to the NFL as a quality control coach for the Broncos in 2019 after a four-year stint at Stanford. He joined the Jets in 2022 as a defensive assistant, was promoted to defensive backs/nickelbacks coach in 2024, and was retained as assistant linebackers coach last year. He’ll how hope to earn his way back to a position coaching role under Glenn for 2026.