Aaron Glenn has replaced his offensive and defensive coordinators in the past month. Elsa / Getty Images
Thirty years ago, Aaron Glenn and Frank Reich spent a season together as teammates on a 1-15 New York Jets team. Now they’re reuniting, this time as coaches — Glenn is leaning on his old friend to help salvage what has, so far, been a turbulent start to his tenure as head coach.
Reich is doing Glenn a favor, like he did for Andrew Luck last year. Reich said of taking the interim head coach job at Stanford: “I did un-retire but just for this year. It’s a one-year thing.”
By all accounts, he was going to stay true to his word. Then Glenn called and pitched him on being the “head coach of the offense” for the Jets. Boomer Esiason — the former Jets quarterback and Reich’s close friend — said Tuesday on his WFAN show that Reich taking the job would be “doing it to support his buddy and somebody he believes in.” And that was even after Esiason told him what he was walking into.
“I gave him honest answers,” Esiason said on the radio on Tuesday. “He obviously watches, he knows what’s going on.”
If Reich knows what’s going on, then he knows that, a little more than one year after being introduced as the Jets’ head coach, Glenn’s approval rating is tanking. If the start of this Jets offseason was a game, they would already be trailing by multiple touchdowns midway through the first quarter. In other words: It was an awful start, but there is still time to salvage things.
There’s still free agency and the NFL Draft, the Jets’ best chance to create some hope by infusing a roster with talent that it needs desperately. That’s not Glenn’s only way to win back some cache with an angry fan base.
Reich’s arrival hasn’t been met with unanimous praise, though bringing in someone with his level of experience and respect should at least help Glenn on his quest to build a better culture. There are fair questions to be asked about what the Jets are getting in the 64-year-old Reich, whose three most recent offenses (2025 Stanford, 2023 Carolina Panthers, 2022 Indianapolis Colts) struggled — and the Jets don’t currently have an answer at quarterback.
But there are ways the Jets can get back on the right track. Here are some of them:
The way Glenn handled his coaching staff this offseason has been the subject of derision, some of it deserved. That’s particularly true in the way he handled his offensive and defensive coordinator hires. On defense, he interviewed eight candidates virtually. Wink Martindale flew in for an in-person interview under the impression that the job was his, only by then Glenn had changed his mind, decided he wanted to call plays, interviewed Brian Duker a day later — who wasn’t on the original interview list — and then hired him shortly after that.
On offense, Tanner Engstrand started the offseason thinking he’d remain in his role as offensive coordinator and play-caller. After a wave of coaching firings (some of them unexpected), Glenn had plans to take away play-calling duties from Engstrand while allowing him to keep his OC title. A few days later, Engstrand and the Jets parted ways; only then did Glenn start his search for a new offensive coordinator.
Beyond that, Glenn also, in total, fired two coordinators (Engstrand and, in December, Steve Wilks), a passing game coordinator (Scott Turner) and five other position coaches of note. Another (tight ends coach Jeff Blasko) is expected to join the Cleveland Browns’ staff.
Glenn needs to answer for how his process looked and why it seemed like he went into the offseason with one plan and then changed it halfway through. The next time Glenn would be expected to speak is at the NFL Combine at the end of February, though he’s not technically required to talk then.
In addition to Reich, the Jets also hosted Greg Roman and Darrell Bevell for in-person interviews for the offensive coordinator position, and it’s possible one or both could join Reich in roles on his offensive staff. Both would be ideal coaches to bring into the fold, Roman for his prowess in the running game — the Ravens and Chargers consistently ranked among the NFL’s best offenses in his tenures there — and Bevell would be a useful addition to help in the passing game (he spent the last four years with Mike McDaniel in Miami).
Expect wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson (he coached with Reich in Carolina) and offensive line coach Steve Heiden to return in their same roles. One name to keep an eye on as a potential addition: Duce Staley, who coached with Reich in Philadelphia and Carolina. Kevin Patullo, who was removed from his offensive coordinator role in Philadelphia but still might stay on that staff, and Eagles passing game coordinator Parks Frazier both worked with Reich in Indianapolis as well. If Glenn really wanted to win back some fans, he’d bring former Jets center Kevin Mawae back to Florham Park — Mawae was on Reich’s staff in Indy.
As for the defensive side of the ball: Glenn got off to a good start with Wednesday’s hiring of longtime Steelers defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, who was on Mike Tomlin’s staff since 2018 and played a role in the development of stars like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt. He also coached for the Jets from 2012-14. Glenn still has to fill other vacant roles on his defensive staff, including linebackers coach.
Glenn presumably will work with Reich to find the right veteran fit at quarterback to start the offseason. Looking at Reich’s history, he has coached pocket passers more often than mobile ones, which is what Glenn tends to prefer. It should be noted, though, that many of Reich’s quarterbacks in Indianapolis were veterans at the end of their careers: Luck, Philip Rivers and Matt Ryan among them. Reich had success with Carson Wentz in Philadelphia, but their reunion with the Colts didn’t work out.
Two logical targets for the Jets: Jacoby Brissett and Kirk Cousins. Brissett and Reich spent three years together in Indianapolis, and Reich and Cousins have struck up a friendship together off the field tied to their faith. Jets senior football advisor Rick Spielman also brought Cousins to the Vikings back in 2018. Brissett would have to be acquired via trade with the Cardinals while Cousins is expected to be released by the Falcons.
Stylistically, Geno Smith would make some sense too if the Raiders release him. Reich also has a close relationship with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Tanner McKee fits the physical mold of a Reich QB. 49ers backup Mac Jones remains an option via trade too. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray feels like less of a fit but can’t be ruled out entirely if owner Woody Johnson is looking to make a splash.
As for the NFL Draft: No quarterbacks are worthy of the No. 2 pick but I’d expect the Jets to target a prospect either with their No. 16 overall pick (from the Colts) or their second-round picks at No. 33 and No. 44. The best options in that range appear to be Alabama’s Ty Simpson, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar and, if he is indeed in this draft, Mississippi’s Trinidad Chambliss.
This is the part of the offseason that gets Jets fans the most excited: free agency. And the Jets have the financial capability — projected for somewhere in the range of $70-80 million in cap space — and motivation to make a splash. That’s not to say they should go on a spending spree, but Glenn and GM Darren Mougey targeting a big name or two at the top of free agency would be a good way to get the offseason back on track.
Of the players currently set to hit free agency, the realistic targets who would garner the most positive feedback (and fill needs) would be: Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce and 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings.
The Jets forced four turnovers in 17 games, the fewest in NFL history. (In case you didn’t hear, they failed to record a single interception.) Many of the players the Jets added last offseason, in the draft and free agency, didn’t have a rich history of forcing turnovers, and that played itself out in the way that the Jets never seemed to be around the ball.
The Jets need to prioritize adding players to their defense who are better at causing disruption up front (pass rushers) and creating turnovers on the backend.
The Jets will likely draft a defensive player at No. 2 — Miami’s Ruben Bain Jr. and Ohio State’s Arvell Reese feel like the early favorites — and another one or two with their early picks. But they should dip into free agency too.
I would expect Hall wants to test free agency — and if the Jets don’t want to lose him for nothing, they could franchise tag him. There are some interesting options in free agency at running back (Javonte Williams, Travis Etienne Jr., Kenneth Walker III, Rico Dowdle, J.K. Dobbins) and in the NFL Draft if they opt to go in another direction. Either way, the Jets can’t go into next season with Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis as the top running backs on the roster.
If the Jets want to keep fans happy, they’ll bring back the Folk Hero, who was stellar in 2025: 28 of 29 field goals, 22 of 22 extra points.
The fans might riot if the Jets bring him back. Don’t be surprised if he’s wearing a Titans or Falcons jersey in 2026.
The offensive lineman came into his own at right guard last season, and he’s eligible for a new contract. Tippmann, I’m told, would love to sign a new deal with the Jets early, especially now that his value has increased playing (and thriving) at guard as opposed to center, the position they drafted him to play.
The Jets owner hasn’t spoken since October when he put the blame for the Jets’ struggles on the shoulders of quarterback Justin Fields and threw his support behind Glenn. People with the Detroit Lions often say that owner Sheila Ford Hamp coming out and giving Dan Campbell a vote of confidence in 2022 provided a major boost to Campbell and his staff and helped spur a winning streak in Year 2.
Glenn has lost much of the public goodwill he had a year ago and Johnson would be smart to end speculation that he has been too involved this offseason — as well as offer support for a coach he was raving about just four months ago. Johnson is likely to speak at some point at the NFL owners meetings in Arizona at the end of March.
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