Aaron Glenn's Jets coaching staff overhaul somehow just got even messier

If the New York Jets were hoping to turn over a new leaf and provide a fresh layer of optimism after a disastrous 2025 season, their latest coaching developments have accomplished the exact opposite.

SNY's Connor Hughes reported Saturday night that one veteran name the Jets have been linked to as they look to add an experienced offensive play-caller is Frank Reich.

Hughes also added that current offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand is “not expected to call plays in 2026,” with the Jets still determining his exact role on the staff. Engstrand will remain with the team, but his role — and likely his responsibilities — will be changing.

However it shakes out, a new offensive play-caller is expected to be added to Glenn's staff. After one year under Glenn, the Jets are already adding new play-callers on both sides of the ball, and the lack of clarity is impossible to ignore.

Jets' Tanner Engstrand decision exposes their offseason coaching mess

To be clear, this isn’t an argument that Engstrand was some obvious must-keep, can’t-touch offensive coordinator. Still, given the inept quarterback play and offensive personnel he was working with, Engstrand showed enough creativity and structure to at least warrant a second year calling plays.

If nothing else, he offered more upside than most of the retread options available on the open market. But that’s not even the biggest issue here. The real problem is the process.

The Jets are muddying the waters and turning what could be a necessary coaching overhaul into something unnecessarily complicated. That concern only grows with the team's apparent plans on the defensive side of the ball.

While the Jets have not officially hired Wink Martindale as their new defensive coordinator, all indications point to that move becoming official soon after his second interview with the team on Friday.

If that happens, the Jets would be handing their offensive and defensive play-calling duties to two coaches in their mid-60s who have not had sustained NFL success in roughly half a decade and who have both spent their most recent years out of the league entirely.

The Jets appear to be opting to settle for familiarity and name recognition over potential high-variance, younger options. That isn't an approach that is going to inspire much confidence.

The offensive structure, in particular, feels ripe for dysfunction. Based on the wording of recent reports, it sounds like there’s a very real possibility the Jets keep Engstrand as offensive coordinator while bringing in someone like Reich as a senior assistant or passing game coordinator — only to have the latter call plays.

They could also opt for a co-offensive coordinator setup, which would be a mess in its own right. Either way, it’s a messy power structure. Titles without authority rarely work, and asking a young coordinator to retain credibility without play-calling control is a recipe for disaster.

And in reality, it’s hard to ignore what this says about Glenn’s first year on the job. He has already overhauled his defensive staff, fired his defensive coordinator, and is now set to replace both offensive and defensive play-callers after just one season.

That’s about as disastrous a Year 1 as a head coach can have. Combine that with a bleak quarterback outlook, and it’s difficult to see where the optimism is supposed to come from. How can anyone expect this coaching staff to still be here a year from now?

Could any of this work? Sure, in theory. But in practice, it feels like panic masquerading as experience. And if the warning signs surrounding this staff's lack of long-term vision weren’t already clear, they’re flashing red now.