New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn continues to make seismic changes to his coaching staff.
On Friday, January 23, it was revealed that he fired six assistants from his staff. Later that evening, NFL Insider Aaron Wilson revealed that he wasn’t done.
Assistant defensive backs coach Dre Bly was also caught in the crossfire. Bly, 48, played in the NFL for 11 years. Bly is a former Super Bowl champion, first-team All-Pro, and two-time Pro Bowl selection.
Offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand will remain on the staff, “but [his] role. responsibilities, structure of [the] NFL’s 29th ranked total scoring offense [is] expected to change, and still being defined,” Wilson posted.
NFL Insider Aaron Wilson had hinted that the team planned on retaining “at least” one other offensive coach that they would “reassign” to a different role.
It’s Not About What You Did, It’s About What You Can Do
Bly was a wildly successful player in the NFL.
He entered the league as the No. 41 overall pick in the second round of the 1999 NFL draft. Bly achieved team and individual success during his run in the NFL. He finished his career with 43 interceptions and five pick-sixes. Those 43 picks are tied for the 63rd most in NFL history.
Those ball skills that he clearly had as a player didn’t translate into his coaching and teaching of the players.
The Jets became the first team in NFL history to go through an entire regular season and not have a single interception. That is still one of the most impossible-to-believe stats of all time.
There are 17 games in a season. The NFL has never been more of a passing league than it is right now.
There are three distinct ways that an interception can occur.
On offense, there could be a miscommunication where the wide receiver runs the wrong route, the QB throws it to a spot, and the defender is waiting.
A ball could get deflected up in the air and present a random opportunity to catch a floater for a turnover.
Or the final way is one of your players simply makes a play. A quarterback throws a great pass, but a defender makes a better play and comes away with the football.
All of those things could have happened once this season, but the Jets didn’t capitalize. When something historic like this happens, someone has to pay, and Bly is one of those coaches who is being held responsible.
The Jets Are Blowing Things Up
Coach Glenn already fired his defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks, when three games were remaining in the regular season.
Now it sounds like he is changing play-callers on offense, too.
Engstrand’s role isn’t finalized yet, but the phrasing of Wilson’s post seems to suggest he will be moved to another role on offense. Scott Turner was fired as the passing game coordinator, which makes sense as a likely landing spot for Engstrand.
The Jets have done a marvelous job of moving in silence this offseason. That has been met with some criticism from the peanut gallery.
“Why did it take so long to make these decisions? Why couldn’t you just do it after the season? Why make these coaches twist in the wind?” Jets media member Dan Leberfeld openly asked.
“Aaron Glenn made some major changes to his Jets coaching staff – and that’s a positive. No way he could run it back with the same staff, of course. Yes, he hired them. Recognized some mistakes. As for timing, the moves didn’t necessarily come today. Jets don’t announce those,” Dennis Waszak Jr of the Associated Press posted.
Yes, he hired them. Recognized some mistakes.
As for timing, the moves didn’t necessarily come today. Jets don’t announce those.
Everything isn’t as it appears.
There have been no reported interviews for any of these Jets’ offensive positions, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t interviewed people.
Amid the DC search, the Jets didn’t individually announce who they were speaking with. That led to criticism on social media that the Jets were sitting on their hands. The team quieted that noise by releasing the first round of eight people they spoke with at the end of last week.
Aaron Glenn Fires Super Bowl Champ, Demotes Jets Play-Caller