New Details Surface After Jets-Tanner Engstrand Part Ways

It's been an odd week for the New York Jets, to say the least.

Over the last week, the Jets went from a team looking to fill an open defensive coordinator job, to a team looking to completely rebuild the coaching staff, outside of the head coach. On Jan. 23, reports surfaced — including from Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston — that Charles London, Eric Washington, Roosevelt Williams, Scott Turner, Aaron Curry and Alonso Escalante were being fired.

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The fact that the Jets made changes wasn't the most surprising thing. New York went 3-14 last season. Of course there's going to be changes. But the timing was surprising, to say the least. Typically, you see a lot of the jobs open up right after the regular season ends so then teams have plenty of time to fill them. We're weeks from the season ending.

What a week for New York

Jun 11, 2025; Florham Park, NY, USA; New York Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand speaks at a press conference during minicamp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Things took an even more surprising turn on Jan. 27, though. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported that offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand was being fired. This is the kicker because just days before, it didn't seem like Engstrand would be fired. While breaking down the ongoing openings for the franchise, The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt gave insight into the offensive coordinator turmoil.

"As for Engstrand, Glenn had no intention of firing him — and as of Saturday, he was viewed as part of the staff for 2026 regardless of who else Glenn hired," Rosenblatt reported. "The exact terms of Engstrand’s departure are unclear, but being stripped of play-calling marked a clear demotion. On Tuesday, Engstrand and the Jets officially parted ways."

Things move quickly across the National Football League, but even this is surprising. To go from the team not expecting to fire Engstrand on Saturday, to him being out the door on Tuesday is quite the turn of events.

New York followed up with five interviews on Wednesday to fill the opening, including Frank Reich. All in all, it's been an unorthodox week for New York.

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