On Tuesday, it was reported that the New York Jets have parted ways with offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand after just one season.
It initially appeared that the Jets were planning on stripping the former quarterback of his play-calling duties while keeping him on the staff. However, both sides later agreed to move on.
While Engstrand was far from perfect during his first season as an NFL play-caller, context is key. He operated with three different quarterbacks, including four starts from an undrafted rookie.
The numbers support the idea that Engstrand was optimizing poor quarterback play. In several key statistical categories, the Jets’ offense produced open targets at a rate you typically associate with some of the league’s elite offensive minds.
While some will frame Engstrand as the Jets’ main problem on offense, he appears to be the latest scapegoat in Aaron Glenn’s teardown after just one year of his regime. The pattern is becoming impossible to ignore.
Aaron Glenn is at the forefront of the Jets’ issues
Fifteen weeks into the season, Glenn fired his defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks. A few weeks after the season’s conclusion, he dismissed seven more assistants. Less than a week after that, he canned Engstrand.
After one season, the former Jets cornerback is now tasked with replacing roughly half of his coaching staff, including the offensive and defensive coordinators. At some point, the common denominator becomes obvious: Glenn.
Whether Glenn was right to make those firings, and the timing of them, is a separate discussion. The larger point is that Glenn is ultimately responsible for those coaches’ failures. Glenn was given full autonomy to build his staff, and every one of those hires was handpicked.
So far, the lone success has been on special teams. Chris Banjo was a strong hire, and Glenn deserves credit for that. Beyond that, though, the results are lackluster.
There is nothing wrong with a head coach moving on from assistants after one season. But after a 3-14 debut and a sweeping set of firings, the bigger question becomes how Glenn is supposed to sell hope, especially when it comes to developing a quarterback.
Glenn moved on from his offensive coordinator, pass-game coordinator, and quarterbacks coach after just one season. Those are three of the most critical roles in a young quarterback’s development. Glenn, a defensive-minded head coach, is not an offensive architect, so he has to find the right people for these roles.
Having admitted that he swung and missed on all three roles after just one season, how could Glenn convince the Jets’ ownership and fanbase that he is equipped to develop a franchise quarterback? Right now, he can’t. Expecting this staff turnover to suddenly put Gang Green on the right track is wishful thinking.
Unless Frank Reich is New York’s saving grace, it isn’t looking too pretty for the Aaron Glenn-led Jets moving forward.
