The Jets are working on a deal with former Colts and Panthers head coach Frank Reich, Connor Hughes of SNYtv.com reports.
Reich, 64, would join the Jets’ offensive staff in an unspecified role.
Hughes reports that the Jets don’t plan to fire offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, but his role with the team would change. Engstrand could retain his title, but Reich likely would call the plays.
Reich was offensive coordinator with the Chargers (2014-15) and Eagles (2016-17) before becoming the Colts’ head coach (2018-22) and then the Panthers’ head coach (2023). He was Stanford’s interim head coach in 2025 and is currently the senior advisor with the Cardinal.
The Jets ranked 29th in yards and points last season. They were 10th in rushing yards and 32nd in passing yards.
Offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand was not among the offensive coaches fired by Jets head coach Aaron Glenn last week, but his role may be changing significantly in 2026.
According to multiple reports, the Jets are mulling the addition of another coach to Glenn’s staff who would be tasked with calling the team’s offensive plays. The Jets finished 29th in points scored and yards per game in Engstrand’s first year calling plays and they had the league’s least potent passing offense.
Connor Hughes of SNY reports that former Colts and Panthers head coach Frank Reich is one of the coaches that has been linked to the Jets as they consider the change in operations on offense.
Replacing Engstrand as offensive coordinator would require the Jets to conduct a full search that complies with the league’s Rooney Rule requirements. Hiring a coach with a title like consultant would allow them to avoid that process, however.
The Jets fired quarterbacks coach Charles London and pass game coordinator Scott Turner last week. They are also looking for a defensive coordinator after firing Steve Wilks during the season.
Sam Darnold’s redemptive rise began before he joined the Seahawks last year, but the quarterback hit new heights in the last few weeks.
An overtime win over the Rams in Week 16 and a Week 18 wipeout of the 49ers made Seattle the NFC West champs before a rout of the 49ers sent them to the NFC Championship Game against those same Rams. Darnold dealt with an oblique injury all week, but went 25-of-36 for 346 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-27 win that will go down as his finest NFL hour.
It didn’t take long for a reminder of his earlier struggles to surface, however. Darnold began his career as the third overall pick by the Jets in 2018 and the lasting memory of his three years with the team was a four-interception game against the Patriots on a Monday night in 2019. Darnold wore a microphone for that game and was captured telling coaches he was “seeing ghosts” on the field during the 33-0 loss.
During Sunday’s postgame press conference, Darnold was asked about the journey from that point to facing the Patriots again in Super Bowl LX.
“I almost forgot about it, so thanks. No, you’re good,” Darnold said, via a transcript from the team. “I think for me, there was a lot that I didn’t know back then, so I’m just going to continue to learn and grow in this great game. There is a lot of stuff that I can get better from today even. I feel like I missed some throws out there that I shouldn’t miss. There were some things offensively that I feel like we can do better. So we’re always looking to get better. I’m always looking to get better. That’s the great part about this game is you win an NFC Championship and you win games throughout the season, but there is always ways that you can look to get better.”
No one was predicting trips to the Super Bowl for Darnold when he was melting down against New England or when he was struggling with the Panthers, but the door opened for him with the Vikings last year. A late-season swoon marred that comeback, but Darnold kept getting better in Seattle and he could finish his improbable career reinvention at Levi’s Stadium in two weeks.
Wink Martindale is flying to New York on Saturday to interview for the Jets’ vacant defensive coordinator job, Connor Hughes of SNYtv reports.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn made significant changes to his coaching staff after a 3-14 record in his first season.
The Jets, who finished 25th in yards allowed (355.6) and 31st in points (29.6) and forced only four takeaways, are seeking to replace Steve Wilks, whom they fired after a Week 15 loss to the Jaguars.
Martindale, 62, has seven years of NFL defensive coordinator experience with the Broncos (2010), Ravens (2018-21) and the Giants (2022-23). He spent the past two seasons in Ann Arbor as Michigan’s defensive coordinator under Sherrone Moore.
The Jets also have interviewed interim defensive coordinator Chris Harris, Broncos defensive pass game coordinator and assistant head coach Jim Leonhard, Vikings defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones, Lions defensive assistant Jim O’Neil, Packers defensive line coach and run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington, Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda and Dolphins cornerbacks coach Mathieu Araujo’.
The Jets are also looking for a new quarterbacks coach, defensive line coach, linebackers coach and a passing game coordinator, among others.
When John Harbaugh became head coach of the Ravens, he inherited defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. Eighteen years later, Harbaugh could be bringing Ryan in.
Via Michael McCarthy of FrontOfficeSports.com, Harbaugh didn’t dismiss the possibility of hiring Ryan to serve as the Giants’ defensive coordinator.
“Why not?” Harbaugh said in an appearance on WFAN. “Could you imagine Rex coming back in here? I’m not ruling anything out. A guy like Rex, he’s around the game, he knows the game. He’s going to have to get updated a little bit with some of the scheme stuff, but I’ll tell you, no one calls a better game than Rex Ryan.”
After one year with Harbaugh, Ryan became the head coach of the Jets, where he worked from 2009 through 2014. He then coached the Bills in 2015 and 2016. He has spent the last 10 years at ESPN.
Two years ago, Ryan emerged as a candidate for the defensive coordinator job in Dallas. He claimed that he would have gotten the job over Mike Zimmer, if owner/G.M. Jerry Jones hadn’t lowballed him.
Ryan’s defense creates chaos. And even though the game has indeed changed since he last coached, it’s still 11-on-11 football. The goal of any defense is to deploy its players in a way that short circuits the play that the offense has called. Ryan was able to do that well enough to earn two head-coaching jobs.
And while some head coaches may be intimidated by Ryan’s triple-XL personality, John Harbaugh won’t be. Harbaugh, who was never an offensive or defensive coordinator, will want to delegate those assignments to coaches he can trust to do the job well. It already worked between Harbaugh and Ryan in 2008, culminating in an appearance in the AFC Championship in their only year together.
Could it work again? As Harbaugh said, “Why not?”
