Who is Tanner Engstrand? Everything you must know about the new NY Jets OC

New NY Jets head coach Aaron Glenn has reportedly made one of the most important hires to his first staff, bringing in Detroit Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand to be the Jets' new offensive coordinator.

Multiple reports confirm that Engstrand will join a staff that already includes defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and special teams coordinator Chris Banjo. He follows Glenn over from Detroit and is expected to call plays for the first time in his NFL career.

Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator/tight ends coach Nick Caley emerged as the early favorite for the Jets' OC job, but with the young assistant drawing considerable interest from other teams, it was always going to be difficult to land him.

Instead, the Jets pivoted to Engstrand, who was notably passed over by both new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson and Lions head coach Dan Campbell for their open offensive coordinator position. He receives his first NFL OC opportunity in Florham Park.

Who is Tanner Engstrand?

Engstrand not only has an obvious connection to his new head coach, but he also has one with Jets general manager Darren Mougey. Engstrand and Mougey were teammates for a year at San Diego State in 2004 in a quarterback room that also featured future Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.

After his playing career fizzled out, Engstrand joined the San Diego (different school) coaching staff as a graduate assistant before becoming the team's running backs coach in 2007.

He would serve in a number of roles for San Diego over the next decade, filling in as the team's quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, and even assistant head coach. Engstrand notably worked under future NFL head coach Jim Harbaugh while at San Diego.

The two would reunite for a year in 2018 when Engstrand joined Harbaugh's staff at Michigan as an offensive analyst before the former left to become the offensive coordinator of the XFL's DC Defenders.

Engstrand was hired by the Lions after the XFL folded, starting as an offensive assistant before working his way up to offensive quality control coach, tight ends coach, and eventually passing game coordinator.

Engstrand was one of Ben Johnson's top assistants in Detroit, making it somewhat surprising that he didn’t follow him to Chicago or earn a promotion within the Lions organization. Still, he's viewed as a rising offensive mind in the sport and makes sense as an OC option for the Jets.

The Jets are hoping to find a bit more success with their offensive coordinator — a job that has been a revolving door since the departure of Brian Schottenheimer in 2011.

Since the 2012 season, the Jets have had a whopping eight different OCs, and that's not including Todd Downing who was essentially the acting offensive coordinator for most of 2024.

Aaron Glenn and the Jets are banking on Tanner Engstrand to be the one who finally ends the team's long-standing offensive coordinator curse.

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