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New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This offseason, head coach Aaron Glenn cleaned out most of his staff on the New York Jets. That included offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, who was set to enter his second season with the team.

At the end of January, seemingly out of nowhere, Glenn fired Engstrand and ultimately replaced him with longtime coach Frank Reich. Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed the biggest winners and losers of the Jets’ offseason so far. Engstrand made the list as a loser.

“The Jets moved on from Engstrand, now with the [Atlanta] Falcons, after an inconsistent season for the offense. However, it would be unfair to blame that on him entirely, considering what he had to work with versus what Reich is getting in 2026,” Rosenblatt wrote.

“Engstrand’s quarterbacks were Justin Fields, Brady Cook, and an aging/injured Tyrod Taylor. [Garrett] Wilson only played in seven games (and still led the Jets in receiving yards). The Jets went into the year with Josh Reynolds, Tyler Johnson, Allen Lazard, and Arian Smith as the next best options on the depth chart,” Rosenblatt bluntly stated.

“Right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker was lost for the season in training camp. Backup running back Braelon Allen was lost for the season after four games. Mason Taylor required some adjustment to the NFL. It would be fair to say that Reich is being put in a better position to succeed than Engstrand was last season,” Rosenblatt argued.

Engstrand Was Dealt a Bad Hand

Rosenblatt described it well; Engstrand didn’t receive a beautiful full deck of cards. The Jets’ offense had a lot of problems that, quite frankly, weren’t his fault.

Sometimes that’s how the cookie crumbles.

One of the decisions that left many people scratching their heads was Aaron Glenn’s initial coaching staff decisions in 2025. It felt like Glenn was going to hire a highly experienced veteran to be the OC last year. Then he was going to hire a young, impressionable defensive mind to be his DC.

Glenn was a cornerback in the NFL for 15 years. The majority of his tasks at the NFL level have had a defensive focus. Don’t play around on offense; get someone who knows the job. Then, on defense, you can help a young coordinator because you’ve done the job previously.

AG decided to do the opposite. He hired an inexperienced offensive mind and then put an experienced defensive veteran at the DC spot.

Obviously, that didn’t work out. Both Engstrand and Steve Wilks were fired less than a year after being on the job.

Glenn Made the Right Choice Despite a Weird Path

Justin Fried of The Jet Press described the Jets’ eventual firing of Engstrand as “wonky” to Jake Asman. That is an accurate assessment.

Originally, they were going to keep him on the staff, but clearly, something changed weeks after the season, and then they fired him.

It was a mess. However, the final result, despite how wonky the path was, feels like the right decision. Glenn realizes that his tush is on the line. If he doesn’t perform and deliver wins this season, he will be out of a job.

Was he going to hope Engstrand, who just completed his first season on the job, was suddenly going to get better? That would have been a risky decision.

Instead, he gets rid of the relatively inexperienced Engstrand and goes with someone who knows what he is doing in Reich. It’s unclear what the ceiling is for this Jets offense, but clearly the floor was raised going from Engstrand to Reich.

Glenn still deserves blame for messing up the hiring process a year ago, but give him credit for accepting that he made a mistake and trying to fix it.