After one of the worst seasons in Jets history, Aaron Glenn is turning to a familiar face to help him turn around the defense.

Glenn hired Brian Duker as the team’s new defensive coordinator Wednesday, ending a weekslong search that included interviews with nine coaches. Duker worked with Glenn with the Lions from 2021-23, so he knows Glenn’s system.

Glenn is expected to be the defensive play-caller, a departure from his philosophy last year to be more of a CEO coach. Duker has never called plays before. He served as the Dolphins secondary coach and defensive passing game coordinator over the past two seasons under Mike McDaniel.

Duker did not interview for the job until Tuesday. His familiarity with Glenn will help the Jets install the defense that Glenn ran in Detroit.

“During our time in Detroit, Brian consistently demonstrated a high football acumen and an aggressive approach to defense,” Glenn said in a statement. “I’m confident that his energy and knowledge of the game will help elevate our players and push this team forward.”

Glenn seemed to have changed his mind about calling the defense last week. The Jets interviewed eight other candidates virtually and those names included Wink Martindale, an experienced play-caller. Martindale came to New Jersey for a second interview Saturday and it was during that interview that he learned Glenn was thinking about calling the plays, according to sources.

Glenn had stayed away from calling the defense last year, instead hiring veteran coach Steve Wilks. He then fired Wilks in December with three games left in the season. Glenn was asked at the time why he did not call the defense himself.

“I really felt like this first year, and who knows, maybe years to come, that I want to really do a good job of managing the team and making sure that I have my hands on the offense, defense, and the special teams, and I think it’s been valuable for me, to be honest with you,” Glenn said in December. “And again, to have Wilks, a former head coach, somebody that’s coordinated defenses before, I thought that was the best for me for my first time being a head coach and everybody’s different. Everybody’s different, but yes, I did think about calling [the defense], but again, I thought being able to manage the team will be better for me in my first year.”

Duker and Glenn have a tough job ahead of them to turn around this defense. They were terrible last year, ranking 31st in points allowed and 25th in yards allowed. They had no interceptions and just four takeaways, both NFL records for futility.

The Jets traded away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, the team’s top two defensive players, at the trading deadline. They have very little blue-chip talent left. The Jets do have resources to rapidly improve the roster this offseason with nearly $90 million of expected salary cap space and four draft picks in the first two rounds.

Duker, 36, was the defensive backs coach for the Lions in 2023 after serving as the safeties coach in 2022 and a defensive assistant in 2021. He has also worked for the Browns, 49ers and Ravens.

At the end of the season, Glenn indicated that he was looking for someone who was not just a strong coach but one who saw defense in a similar way to him.

“Compatibility is just as important as [coaching] ability,” he said.

Besides Duker and Martindale, the Jets also interviewed Mathieu Araujo, Ephraim Banda, DeMarcus Covington, Daronte Jones, Jim Leonhard, Chris Harris and Jim O’Neil for the defensive coordinator position.

Glenn now must hire an offensive coordinator after moving on from Tanner Engstrand this week. Frank Reich is seen as the favorite to land the job, but the Jets must go through the interview process. The team interviewed Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells, Dolphins quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell, Bills QB coach Ronald Curry and former Chargers OC Greg Roman for the job Wednesday.