Saints and Jets rebuilding projects collide in a matchup of first-year coaches and rookie QBs

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints and New York Jets have gone through major staff and roster changes in the past year, the result being seven victories between them 15 weeks into the season.

Their parallel rebuilding projects under first-year coaches — and now also featuring rookie quarterbacks — will occupy the same field on Sunday when they meet in New Orleans.

“They’re somewhat similar to how we operated when they let some players go from that team, some veterans,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn, a former Saints secondary coach, said of the changes in New Orleans. “They’re actually trying to build their core of young guys and get those guys a lot of playing time to see exactly how they’re going to operate for the future of that team — somewhat similar to us.”

The Saints (4-10) have seen more hopeful signs lately under first-year coach Kellen Moore. New Orleans has posted consecutive victories over division rivals Tampa Bay and Carolina, who are tied atop the NFC South.

“Obviously, they’ve been doing a pretty good job the last two weeks,” Glenn said, touching on Saints rookie Tyler Shough’s 3-3 record as a starter. “This quarterback is really showing things that we saw on tape. They think that he can be a pretty good quarterback.”

Moore praised Shough's “composure,” which “showed up a bunch” as the Saints scored 10 points in the final five minutes to pull out a 20-17 comeback victory over Carolina last Sunday.

The Jets (3-11) have lost four of five and this week fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after allowing 48 points in a loss to Jacksonville.

Moore anticipates an effective response from the Jets, based on his memory of when he and Glenn squared off as coordinators in 2023. Moore was with the Los Angeles Chargers then, and Glenn with Detroit.

“Always had a ton of respect for Aaron,” Moore said. “Obviously, we know he's building something.”

Jets QB Brady Cook has appeared in just two games — both losses — and will be making his second start.

So far, not so good for the Missouri product. He's completed 57.1% of his passes for 339 yards with one TD and five interceptions.

“It’s opportunity for me to lead this team once again and try to go get a win on the road,” Cook said. “It’s really as simple as that.”

The game marks the debut of Chris Harris as the Jets’ interim defensive coordinator.

Harris, a former NFL safety, was hired by Glenn as the Jets’ defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator. Glenn noted that he spoke with Harris when he was considering defensive coordinator candidates before hiring Wilks.

“He did a really good job in that interview,” Glenn said. “He’s more than capable."

Saints defensive end Chase Young has put together a solid season since sitting out New Orleans' first five games with a calf strain.

He has six sacks, just a half-sack behind Cameron Jordan for the team lead. He also has seven tackles for loss, 10 QB hurries, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

His latest sack last Sunday helped stall Carolina's final series and enabled New Orleans to stage a game-winning drive.

“Our pass rush has definitely improved with him coming back and I think our third-down defense has really improved,” defensive coordinator Brandon Staley said. “Everyone's just benefiting from a premium player coming back.”

The Saints have been steadily climbing the defensive rankings in recent weeks. They are up to 11th in total defense and sixth against the pass.

Defensive backs “can do their job better because there's just more total pass rush,” Staley said. “It's been noticeable."

The Jets enter the game with no interceptions, an NFL record for the most games without one to start a season.

New York also tied San Francisco, which ended its drought earlier this season, for the longest interception drought at any point -- 14 games.

The Jets are also challenging the NFL mark for the fewest interceptions in a season. The 2018 49ers had only two in 16 games.

Some of Cook’s family and friends were shown in the stands throughout CBS’ broadcast of the Jets’ previous game at Jacksonville.

His parents were among those there to see his first NFL TD pass.

“That was awesome for them to have that moment and for me to see their live reaction," Cook said. "That’s kind of rare. ... So, that was a pretty cool moment for me as well.”

Cook said his parents and other relatives will be in the Superdome on Sunday.

AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak in Florham Park, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn looks on during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore gestures on the field in the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) runs with the ball against Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) throws a pass in the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A man who is suspected of killing two and wounding several others at Brown University has been found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility, a law enforcement official and a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The man was found dead Thursday evening. He is believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the person familiar with the matter said.

Investigators believe the man is responsible for both the shooting at Brown and the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who was fatally shot in his Brookline home Monday, the official said. Authorities have not formally confirmed a connection between the two shootings.

The official and the person familiar with the matter could not publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and both spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Two people were killed and nine were wounded in the mass shooting Saturday at Brown University. The investigation had shifted Thursday when authorities said they were looking into a connection between the Brown mass shooting and an attack two days later near Boston that killed MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro.

The FBI previously said it knew of no links between the cases.

It has been nearly a week since the shooting at Brown. There have been other high-profile attacks in which it took days or longer to make an arrest, including in the brazen New York City sidewalk killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO last year, which took five days.

But frustration mounted in Providence that the person behind the attack managed to get away and that a clear image of their face hadn't emerged.

Although Brown officials say there are 1,200 cameras on campus, the attack happened in an older part of the engineering building that has few, if any, cameras. And investigators believe the shooter entered and left through a door that faces a residential street bordering campus, which might explain why the cameras Brown does have didn’t capture footage of the person.

In such targeted and highly public attacks, the shooters typically kill themselves or are killed or arrested by police, said Katherine Schweit, a retired FBI agent and expert on mass shootings. When they do get away, searches can take time.

In the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, it took investigators four days to catch up to the two brothers who carried it out. In a 2023 case, Army reservist Robert Card was found dead of an apparent suicide two days after he killed 18 people and wounded 13 others in Lewiston, Maine.

The man accused of killing conservative political figure Charlie Kirk in September turned himself in about a day and a half after the attack on Utah Valley University's campus. And Luigi Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan last year, was arrested five days later at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania.

Loureiro, who was married, joined MIT in 2016 and was named last year to lead the school's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he worked to advance clean energy technology and other research. The center, one of MIT's largest labs, had more than 250 people working across seven buildings when he took the helm. He was a professor of physics and nuclear science and engineering.

He grew up in Viseu, in central Portugal, and studied in Lisbon before earning a doctorate in London, according to MIT. He was a researcher at an institute for nuclear fusion in Lisbon before joining MIT, the university said.

“He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader, and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner,” Dennis Whyte, an engineering professor who previously led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, told a campus publication.

Loureiro had said he hoped his work would shape the future.

“It’s not hyperbole to say MIT is where you go to find solutions to humanity’s biggest problems,” Loureiro said when he was named to lead the plasma science lab last year. “Fusion energy will change the course of human history.”

This story was updated to delete a reference to MIT being an Ivy League school.

Richer and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

Law enforcement officers search the area for the Brown University shooting suspect, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Salem, N.H. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

A pedestrian walks along Brown University's campus on Thayer St. in Providence, R.I., Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

This image taken from video provided by the FBI shows a person of interest in the investigation of the shooting that occurred at Brown University, in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI via AP)

A poster seeking information about the campus shooting suspect is seen on the campus of Brown University, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A woman lights a candle at a memorial set up in front of the Barus and Holley engineering building at Brown University in Providence, RI, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/ Mark Stockwell)

A Brown University student walks past a church on the Providence, RI, campus, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/ Mark Stockwell)