By ESPN | Created at 2025-01-31 21:42:47 | Updated at 2025-02-01 00:58:30
3 hours ago
Rich CiminiJan 31, 2025, 04:04 PM ET
- Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- If he's back with the New York Jets in 2025, Aaron Rodgers' new offensive coordinator will be former Detroit Lions assistant Tanner Engstrand.
Engstrand, 42, agreed to terms with the Jets on Friday, a source confirmed to ESPN. He is familiar with newly hired coach Aaron Glenn, as they spent the past four seasons together on Dan Campbell's staff. Engstrand was the passing game coordinator for an offense that scored a league-high 564 points in 2024.
Fox Sports and Houston's KPRC first reported the agreement.
Once again, the Jets will go into the season with a first-time head coach and a first-time playcaller on offense. They did the same thing in 2021 with Robert Saleh and Mike LaFleur, who was pushed out after two seasons.
Engstrand walks into a historically unstable job that, for now, has a historically great quarterback.
He will be the Jets' 11th playcaller in the past 15 years, probably one of the reasons why they have the 32nd-ranked scoring offense over that span.
Rodgers, 41, is undecided on whether to play a 21st season. Likewise, the Jets haven't said if they want to move forward with the future Hall of Famer, whose 2024 performance was uneven. Glenn, in his introductory news conference Monday, said Rodgers will be evaluated just like every player on the roster.
The four-time MVP has had only four playcallers in his career: Mike McCarthy and Matt LaFleur with the Green Bay Packers and Nathaniel Hackett and Todd Downing with the Jets. Downing took over last season when Hackett was demoted in Week 6.
The defensive-minded Glenn will lean heavily on Engstrand as they chart a course for the offense, which finished 24th in scoring this season.
Engstrand was considered a possible replacement for former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who left to become the Chicago Bears' head coach, but he was passed over when Campbell opted to go outside the organization to hire John Morton from the Denver Broncos.
Engstrand is a Jim Harbaugh disciple, having worked under Harbaugh at the University of San Diego and Michigan. Engstrand has called plays at the college level (San Diego) and in the XFL (D.C. Defenders) but has no NFL playcalling experience. He has a distant connection to new Jets general manager Darren Mougey, who were both quarterbacks at San Diego State in 2004.
The San Diego native spent his next 13 years as an assistant at USD before following Harbaugh to Michigan. In 2020, he landed with the Lions as an offensive assistant under coach Matt Patricia, who was fired that year. Engstrand was retained by Campbell in 2021, starting as the tight ends coach and eventually being promoted to passing game coordinator.
Engstrand inherits an offense with two talented wide receivers in Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams, though there is a chance Adams will be released in a salary-cap-related move. He also gets a versatile running back in Breece Hall and four returning starters on the offensive line.
The big question is the uncertainty at quarterback, one of the reasons why their top coordinator target -- Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nick Cailey -- reportedly declined an interview.
If Rodgers doesn't return, the Jets probably will add a quarterback. The top quarterbacks under contract are backup Tyrod Taylor, 35, and 2024 fifth-round pick Jordan Travis, who missed his rookie year due to a college injury.
