Although Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand survived head coach Aaron Glenn’s mass dismissal of a giant swath of his first coaching staff – which incorporates the midseason firing of defensive coordinator Steve Wilks – a change in Engstrand’s roles and responsibilities was anticipated. Connor Hughes of SNY.television confirms that Glenn will indeed strip Engstrand of his offensive play-calling duties and can likely hire a brand new play-caller.
One name that has been connected to the job (per Hughes) is Frank Reich, 64, who presently serves as a senior advisor for the Stanford football program (he was the varsity’s interim head coach in 2025). On the skilled level, Reich most recently worked because the Panthers’ head coach.
His stint in Carolina was a forgettable one. He was hired in January 2023, but he didn’t make it through one season. With the Panthers having limped to a 1-10 record, and with then-rookie quarterback Bryce Young having struggled to quickly adapt to the NFL, Reich received his walking papers in November 2023.
That was the second consecutive yr through which Reich suffered a midseason firing. He became the Colts’ head coach in 2018, and his first campaign on the job went fairly well. With Andrew Luck under center, Indianapolis posted a 10-6 mark and won its wildcard-round matchup with the Texans before falling to the Chiefs within the divisional round. After all, Luck surprisingly announced his retirement shortly before the 2019 campaign got underway, and that set off a quarterback carousel from which the Colts are still attempting to extricate themselves (although they hope Daniel Jones may find a way to stop the spinning).
Reich and 39-year-old Philip Rivers did lead the Colts back to the playoffs in 2020, though the team was ousted by the Bills in that season’s wildcard round. Perhaps the most important blemish of Reich’s Indianapolis tenure got here in 2021, when his club was eliminated from playoff contention on the last day of the regular season by virtue of a surprising loss to the 2-14 Jaguars. After a 3-5-1 begin to the 2022 slate, Reich was fired.
Following his Carolina dismissal the next yr, Reich said he was unlikely to educate within the NFL again. It stays to be seen if he’s even curious about the Jets’ opportunity, but it seems that Glenn is at the least curious about exploring the chance.
In Engstrand’s first season on the offensive controls, Latest York finished twenty ninth in yards and points. Reich, who served because the Chargers’ OC from 2014-15 and the Eagles’ OC in 2016-17, would at the least bring more experience to the job. His NFL coaching tenure dates back to 2008. Internal play-calling options shall be considered by Glenn as he fills the offensive coordinator position, but Reich could emerge as an outdoor contender for the gig.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.