Chris Banjo - Special Teams Coordinator, jets Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-10 | Full transcript (primary source).
On September 10, 2026, Chris Banjo, Special Teams Coordinator for the Jets, addressed the media in a press conference ahead of the team's season opener. He discussed the team's preparation, the competition among kickers, and the overall confidence and consistency he expects from his players as they gear up for their matchup against a strong opponent.
Transcript
Banjo: Beautiful people. Good morning. Good morning week one football week one football man. Definitely excited about it I love the way our guys have been coming to work every day. I think you know, they're in a good spot They're feeling, you know confident looking forward to our opportunity come Sunday Against another good team another good special teams operation coach coach fossils done a great job wherever he's been for a long time So we look we look forward to that matchup.
Banjo: When it comes to our kickers Love the competition at their end They've been doing a great job coming to work putting their head down and trying to be their best selves every day And we're excited about it. So with that we've take some questions.
Banjo: I would say confidence and consistency confidence and consistency obviously They're in a competition as we you know, we've already mentioned But just the consistency aspect and everything that we're asking for that we're asking them to do.
Banjo: Tell us about group the obviously Like you just said in terms of a guy who came late, we're still actually learning a lot about him ourselves But right now what I can tell you is that he's been very very intentional He's done a great job of hitting the ground running since he's been here getting with the operation with Mac and Henny You know trying to cheer up their technique and you know, they're they're approachable what they want to do So I love how intentional he's been so far and he's done a great job hitting the ground running.
Banjo: He's been a true professional he's been a true professional and again We asked these guys to come to work But put their head down and just go to work and compete and he's continued to do that You know, he hasn't hasn't blinked at all since you know Our last preseason game and he just come to work and continue to perform.
Banjo: Let you come to Friday or Saturday I guess time will tell we'll see but right now what I can tell you those guys are doing a great job competing He's been growing a lot just in all facets of this game is really good to see, you know, the continuous growth that he's had.
Banjo: Obviously, we know how fast he is as a player and he's been able to use those different attributes to be impactful in different Phases for us. So it's been really really good And now you also see his confidence growing with you know, the different type of weapons he can continue to be for us.
Banjo: So same they've grown tremendously as well you talk about that year one a year two growth and the same thing with the year Two to year three, they've done a great job finding conviction, you know who they are being You know their roles on our team and how they want to continue to also like I said be a weapon For us in in that phase of the game.
Banjo: Prepare for the Unscouted looks you hear that term a lot with week one and coach fossils very creative So how do you enter a game not knowing? What to expect like you might in other games?
Banjo: So when we talk about just some of our foundational beliefs, we always talk about discipline a lot When you compound that also with you know fundamentals and technique I genuinely believe you that can get you out of any situation at any moment So those are some things that we drill on a consistent basis and we talk about in our room all the time again Talking about our fundamentals our technique and our discipline So we look forward to being able to execute all three of those things whenever in any given moment Whether it's week one whether it's week ten.
Banjo: Oh, he's great returner great returner a guy that's very very confident back there I think he has very very good get very very good vision It has a really good feel of like, you know Hey when I can take this fair catch when I can make a play on it and um to have All of those things as such a young guy is really really impressive. So definitely going to be a challenge for us But we look forward to it.
Banjo: What happened from your perspective in terms of You you guys picked sanders, but then you reopened it up again. Why did that happen?
Banjo: So in the moment what we said in that moment was hey He won the kicking competition that we had at the moment. We're just in another competition now and that's all it is Anytime in this league It's always we always embrace competition, you know Uh, you come to work every day as a player competing with Obviously yourself, but everybody else around the league on a consistent basis So we embrace that on our own and that's just where we are right now. It's just another competition.
Banjo: With erin specifically What did you see from him as far as progress as a gunner in year one? He knew coming out special teams. He's going to be Uh contributor and also what's your expectations for him now here, too?
Banjo: So what i've seen with him and his progress is now intentional awareness when you talk about okay Some of the tools that we can use for you to you know, make a difference here create some more separation here You see how intentional he is about sharpening those tools that we talk about right and that's contributed to his growth Not just in that phase as a gunner But just all the other phases that we work on as well too So in terms of what we're expecting for him, it is just that continued growth And he's slowly but surely already been showing that and we look forward to continuing to do so.
