Report: Williams near deal to lead ‘D’

NEW YORK — The Jets targeted Gregg Williams to run their defense and reportedly are moving closer to getting him. According to ESPN, the Jets are finalizing a deal to bring in Williams as defensive coordinator, which was in the works after the Jets picked Adam Gase as head coach.

Gase, who was introduced Monday as Jets coach, would not speak specifically about Williams. But Gase said his focus would be on working with Sam Darnold and that he wanted someone to lead the defensive unit.

“I need to spend my time with the quarterback,” Gase said Monday. “Whoever we bring here on the defense has to do a great job of making sure that he's really the head coach of the defense. That's what we're looking for.”

Gase was a guest on Mike Francesa's show on WFAN Tuesday, but he still wouldn't speak about Williams because it wasn't official. He did say he wanted someone with head-coaching experience, which Williams has.

“I want a guy that has experience and can run his defense and dealing with the parameters of the personnel that we have,” Gase said. “I want to spend my time with the offense.”

Williams was the head coach of the Bills from 2001-03 and ended this season as the Browns' interim coach. He went 5-3 but was let go when the Browns chose offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens to be head coach.