A recently fired New York Jets coach could quickly land on his feet.
Beat reporter Art Stapleton of North Jersey dot com said on social media that Tanner Engstrand should be put “into the mix” for the New York Giants vacancy at OC.
“Tanner Engstrand, fired yesterday as Jets OC. Started career with Jim Harbaugh at San Diego and reunited at Michigan. Also spent time with Ben Johnson in Detroit. Got screwed by QB sitch with Jets,” Stapleton explained.
Tanner Engstrand, fired yesterday as Jets OC.
Started career with Jim Harbaugh at San Diego and reunited at Michigan. Also spent time with Ben Johnson in Detroit.
Got screwed by QB sitch with Jets.
Did Engstrand Get Screwed by the Jets?
One of Aaron Glenn’s big hires for the Jets was bringing Engstrand from the Lions to be his OC in New York.
Bluntly, it didn’t work. Engstrand was fired on Tuesday, January 27, after his one season running the controls with the Jets.
Some in the peanut gallery believe it was an unjust firing by Glenn.
“The Jets current coaching staff situation is…something. But I really liked what they were building from a pass game design perspective last season, even if it wasn’t perfect. If a team is looking to build an offensive staff, I’d at least give some of those coaches who got axed – for what appears to be an incoming old-school crew – a call,” Football writer for Yahoo Sports Matt Harmon posted.
“No, I do not care about the on-paper results, given the quarterback situation there, give me a break,” Harmon added.
“I thought Tanner Engstrand did Not A Bad Job At All with what he was given last year, man,” ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak said.
“Firing Tanner Engstrand is the latest and most definitive proof that the Jets have an aimless HC in Aaron Glenn… who probably never had a plan from the very beginning,” Michael Nania of Jets X-Factor posted.
The Stats Are the Stats
It’s funny the things people will excuse in one situation versus another.
Did Engstrand have some flash-in-the-pan moments as a first-year play-caller at the NFL level? Sure.
However, the stats are jarring.
The Jets had the fourth-worst scoring offense in the league (17.6 points per game) and the fourth-worst total net yards per game (263.6) this past season, per ESPN.
You quickly start to play the blame game when you point at the inept quarterback play and inconsistent personnel to create excuses for the poor results.
If Coach Glenn doesn’t deliver in 2026, he could be fired. Was he going to trust Engstrand to make a massive leap with better QB play? That would have been a risky proposition.
Instead, Coach Glenn appears to be leaning toward making an experienced hire to be his next OC.
Giants Lost out on Their Top Option at OC
The only reason the Giants have entered the conversation is that they lost out on their top choice.
Todd Monken landed the head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport confirmed the Giants lost their “top choice” for their vacant OC job.
NFL Insider Jordan Schultz revealed that Giants head coach John Harbaugh was “all in” on landing Monken for his OC job.
With Monken off the table, Engstrand could enter the picture. If he landed the Giants job, he likely wouldn’t have to move, considering his new football home would be right down the street. Engstrand would save some nice change on moving costs.
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