On the surface of his resume, Tanner Engstrand seemed like a no-brainer hire for the New York Jets and head coach Aaron Glenn when he began filling out his staff.
The former passing game coordinator of the Detroit Lions worked hand-in-hand with former play-caller and now head coach of the Chicago Bears Ben Johnson. But while many fans and analysts celebrated the hire, there was a sliver of concern.
After all, once Johnson left for Chicago, the Lions did not opt to make Engstrand the team’s play-caller, opting instead to hire John Morton instead. Some Jets fans grew worried that they hired a coach from a great offensive system that didn’t end up making much of an impact in Detroit.
From Johnson, though, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Jets’ Engstrand Receives Rave Reviews
To say Engstrand received rave reviews from Johnson would be an understatement.
Speaking at league meetings over a week ago, Johnson made it clear that while the Lions offense was run by him, Engstrand was a key part in the game-planning and play-calling process.
“He was an integral part of what we were doing there,” Johnson said of Engstrand. “I got to know him — it was before Dan even took the job there in Detroit. I think Tanner came on as a quality control coach there the last year of [Matt] Patricia and he had a similar trajectory as I did. He just kind of climbed the ladder the same way, starting low and then tight end position and then a passing game coordinator role. He and I have a shared experience, a shared bond that way. I leaned heavily into him the last two seasons.
“He’s called plays in his past and so I think each and every game when I was calling it — he was doing the same thing in his head.”
There have been many instances where offensive coaches were thrust into play-calling roles, whether as a coordinator or head coach after many years as an assistant for strong offenses.
Andy Reid got his head coaching start after being an offensive assistant under Mike Holmgren in Green Bay.
This isn’t to say that Engstrand will be the next Reid, but it has been done before. And the fact that the Lions changed their offense from one that focused on Matthew Stafford’s skill set in 2020 and then built one around Jared Goff should at least give Jets fans the confidence that their current offensive staff can devise a gameplan for quarterback Justin Fields.
Based on Johnson’s comments, it’s clear the Jets have an excellent candidate running their offense moving forward.
