Clear frontrunner emerges in NY Jets OC search as Nick Caley pipedream is likely over

NY Jets head coach Aaron Glenn has spent the last week reaching out to NFL connections in an attempt to put together his first coaching staff. The most important hire of Glenn's initial staff will be his offensive coordinator.

Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator/tight ends coach Nick Caley was reportedly identified as his top target from the offset with many believing the Jets would be able to land the highly-touted Sean McVay protege. However, that doesn't seem as likely at this stage.

Caley has generated interest from a number of teams around the NFL and it's looking increasingly unlikely that the Jets will be able to land him. Luckily Glenn and the Jets have a contingency plan.

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt reported Tuesday morning that Detroit Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand has emerged as a "name to watch" in the Jets' offensive coordinator search. There's more smoke to the Engstrand fire as well.

Tanner Engstrand is the odds-on favorite for the NY Jets OC job

NFL insider Josina Anderson, who was notably first on the Glenn hire, is reporting that "Engstrand's name is already involved in substantive discussions" for the Jets' OC job.

Fellow NFL insider Aaron Wilson took it one step further, reporting that "many league sources [have] expressed confidence" that Engstrand will ultimately become the next Jets offensive coordinator. Talks appear to be moving quickly.

Engstrand attended San Diego State, where he and Jets general manager Darren Mougey overlapped for a year as teammates. Engstrand was a senior quarterback the same year Mougey arrived on campus as a true freshman QB.

After over a decade spent as an assistant coach at San Diego (a different school), Engstrand reunited with former head coach Jim Harbaugh at Michigan as an offensive analyst in 2018. Following a year as the offensive coordinator of the XFL's DC Defenders, Engstrand left to join the Detroit Lions' staff in 2020.

He'd serve in a number of roles alongside and later under now-former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, eventually receiving a promotion to passing game coordinator in 2022.

Engstrand was considered a strong candidate as an internal replacement for Johnson in Detroit, but the Lions opted to hire former Jets offensive coordinator John Morton instead.

The longtime Lions assistant has an obvious connection with Glenn given their time together in Detroit and it probably doesn't hurt that he was in the same QB room as the Jets' current GM for a year in college.

If the Jets miss out on Nick Caley — which appears increasingly likely — Engstrand is expected to be their contingency plan. There's a strong chance this deal gets finalized.

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