The final nails in the coffin of Aaron Glenn’s head coaching career are being hammered in, as the former New York Jets cornerback is now 5-20 as the franchise’s head coach. In 2026, his team has seen the league’s most disappointing disparity between the whole and the sum of the parts.
With Glenn’s days in New York seemingly being numbered, many fans are interested in whether there are appealing replacement options should the franchise decide to move on. The impending crop of head coaching candidates could influence the organization’s decision with Glenn.
Of course, the Jets will likely be inclined to target an offensive-minded coach. They’ve gone the defensive route with eight of their last nine head coaches, the exception being Adam Gase, who hardly qualifies as a head coach at all. It’s high time for the Jets to hop aboard the modern offensive wave.
The harsh reality is that, among the league’s current play-calling offensive coordinators, there aren’t many potential head coaching candidates worth writing home about. Very few of them are leading successful offenses in 2026. Most of the league’s top offenses are led by play-calling head coaches.
As a result, the Jets may have to gamble on a non-play-calling offensive coach if they wish to go the offensive route with their next head coach.
Here are three non-play-calling offensive coaches who could find themselves on the Jets’ head coaching radar in 2027, should they ultimately decide to part ways with Glenn.
Grant Udinski, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator
One of the names quickly gaining steam in Jetsland is Grant Udinski, who has served as a non-play-calling offensive coordinator in Jacksonville under head coach Liam Coen over the last two years.
Despite being only 30 years old with no play-calling experience at any level, Udinski already interviewed for the Cleveland Browns’ head coaching vacancy earlier this year, even earning a second interview. The job ultimately went to Todd Monken, but getting that far in the process for a head coaching position is a huge deal for a coach at such an early stage of his career.
Udinski played college football at Davidson and Towson. The following year after graduating, he joined Baylor as a graduate assistant. Just one year later, Udinski was in the NFL, following Baylor head coach Matt Rhule to the Carolina Panthers, where Rhule hired Udinski as a coaching assistant.
After two years in Carolina, Udinski was hired by Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell in 2022 with the title of “assistant to the head coach & special projects”. From there, Udinski quickly ascended. He became the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2023, and was the assistant offensive coordinator in 2024 when Sam Darnold enjoyed his breakout year.
Udinski’s role in Darnold’s breakout landed him the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator role in Coen’s debut season.
When a coach as young as Udinski ascends this quickly, earning a second head coaching interview just eight years after graduating from college, you take notice. That’s the sign of someone who is revered in league circles.
The way that Jacksonville’s offensive players speak about Udinski in this clip tells you all you need to know about him.
It’s always a risk to hire a head coach who has never called plays, but there is so much more that goes into head coaching than just play-calling, and Udinski appears to check all of those boxes. He’s tuned-in with the modern game, has ascended rapidly throughout the league, has been handpicked by two of the league’s most respected offensive head coaches, and clearly has a highly respected “football guy” reputation amongst his players; he’s not just an “offensive nerd” who cannot command respect from a locker room.
Udinski could be the Jets’ top target if they look for a new head coach in 2027. His resume could hardly do more to alleviate the risk of hiring a head coach who has never called plays.
Klay Kubiak, San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator
The son of legendary offensive coach Gary Kubiak and the brother of now-Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak, Klay Kubiak interviewed for multiple head coaching vacancies in 2026. He took one interview with the Pittsburgh Steelers and two with the Las Vegas Raiders before withdrawing his name from both vacancies to stay in San Francisco.
Klay, 38, does have play-calling experience in football, even if it wasn’t at the professional level. From 2018-20, he was the head coach at Strake Jesuit College Prep in Houston, Texas.
Kyle Shanahan added Kubiak to his staff in 2021 as a defensive quality control coach. Kubiak rose quickly from there, becoming the assistant quarterbacks coach from 2022-23, aiding Brock Purdy in his rise from Mr. Irrelevant to top-tier starter. He worked alongside the 49ers’ top quarterbacks coach, Brian Griese. In 2024, Kubiak became the 49ers’ offensive passing game specialist.
In 2025, Kubiak was promoted to offensive coordinator, becoming the first 49ers coach to hold the OC title under Shanahan since Mike McDaniel in 2021.
It’s never a bad idea in the NFL coaching world to pull from proven trees. Kubiak’s brother, Klint, is off to a strong start as the head coach in Las Vegas, following in their father’s footsteps. The Shanahan tree, stemming from Kyle’s father, Mike, has delivered plenty of successful head coaches in today’s NFL.
Nate Scheelhaase, Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator
Speaking of proven coaching trees, the Sean McVay tree has become one of the most sought-after in today’s NFL; McVay himself stems from the Shanahan tree. Current head coaches Zac Taylor, Kevin O’Connell, Matt LaFleur, and Mike LaFleur all worked on McVay’s offensive staff in Los Angeles.
Nate Scheelhaase is the latest McVay discipline to command heavy interest around the league. In 2026, Scheelhaase interviewed with five teams: Cleveland (twice), Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Las Vegas. One report claimed that he “blew away” the Steelers in their interview, despite Mike McCarthy ultimately landing the job to reunite with Aaron Rodgers.
Scheelhaase, 35, started his coaching career at Illinois (2015-17) before moving on to Iowa State (2018-23), where he rose from running backs coach (2018) to wide receivers coach (2019-20) before handling both of those roles alongside running game coordinator (2021-22).
Like Kubiak, Scheelhaase has some play-calling experience outside of the NFL. In 2023, Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell promoted Scheelhaase to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. As the offensive play-caller, Scheelhaase helped Iowa State win six conference games for just the third time in school history despite having a three-star redshirt freshman quarterback.
McVay picked up Scheelhaase in 2024 as an offensive assistant and pass game specialist. He was promoted to pass game coordinator in 2025, and in 2026, he stepped into the offensive coordinator role, replacing now-Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur.
It’s been a shaky start for the Rams, who are 4-4 despite being preseason Super Bowl favorites, but the offense is sixth-best in DVOA. McVay, though, calls the plays.
Scheelhaase is a young coach who has ascended rapidly through the college and NFL ranks, earning votes of confidence from respected head coaches at both levels. He has some play-calling experience and is coming off a head coaching cycle in which he was among the most coveted names to not land a job. Expect him to be on the Jets’ radar if they are looking for a head coach.
