FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- It's one of the most unstable coaching jobs in the NFL. Average shelf life: About 1½ years. It screams, "Rent, don't buy!"
The position: New York Jets, offensive coordinator.
The next man up is Tanner Engstrand, 42, a first-time NFL coordinator who worked under big-name coaches Jim Harbaugh and Ben Johnson while taking an unconventional route to the Jets.
Engstrand last week proclaimed himself "100%, absolutely ready" for his new gig, which has swallowed up his predecessors.
He's their 10th offensive coordinator and the 11th playcaller in the past 15 seasons, a staggering run of volatility. Passing game coordinator Todd Downing replaced Nathaniel Hackett in the middle of last season as the playcaller, though he didn't assume the title of offensive coordinator. Otherwise, the Jets would be tied with the Chicago Bears for the most offensive coordinators (11) over the past 15 years.
The Jets have tried all kinds, from former head coaches (Tony Sparano, Chan Gailey and Hackett) to recycled coordinators (Marty Mornhinweg, Jeremy Bates and Dowell Loggains) to first-timers (John Morton and Mike LaFleur). The only one to last more than two years was current Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, who held the job from 2006 to 2011 under two head coaches. He was the coordinator on the Jets' last playoff team (2010).
Like all but Loggains, Engstrand is working for a defensive-minded head coach (Aaron Glenn), which puts added pressure on the OC. When the offense malfunctions, it's often the OC -- not the head coach -- who absorbs the heat. Loggains escaped the scrutiny because the playcaller was Adam Gase, the franchise's only offensive-minded head coach in the past 30 years.
And there has been a lot of malfunctioning over the years. Since finishing 11th in 2015 -- Gailey's first season -- the Jets have finished no better than 23rd in scoring offense, largely because of inconsistent quarterback play. Not even Aaron Rodgers (2023-24), a future Hall of Famer, was able to solve the perennial woes on offense.
Into this muddle steps Engstrand, who arrives from the Detroit Lions, where he forged a relationship with Glenn and learned from the innovative Johnson and an offensive-minded head coach in Dan Campbell. The Lions scored a league-high 564 points.
"Tanner, look, he's got some experience, he does," Campbell said at the league's annual spring meeting in March. "He's called plays before. It wasn't in the NFL, but he's done this. He has organized game plans. He helped Ben a ton, helped me. He's an upbeat guy."
Engstrand shared the playcalling duties with coach Pep Hamilton for the D.C. Defenders in the XFL's abbreviated 2020 season. Prior to that, his only other playcalling experience was from 2011 to 2017 at the University of San Diego, where he had connected years earlier with Harbaugh as a graduate assistant on his staff. He worked again with Harbaugh as an offensive analyst at Michigan in 2018.
Now, in his second NFL stop, Engstrand is running the show for Glenn.
"We're going to do as AG wants," Engstrand said, "but he's also given me some freedom to do what we feel is best with our scheme and our players."
The offense will have a Lions flavor to it, from scheme to coaching. Engstrand will lean heavily on former Lions tight ends coach Steve Heiden, who will coach the offensive line and be heavily involved in the running game.
Another key voice belongs to senior offensive assistant/passing game coordinator Scott Turner, a former longtime coordinator whose experience should be helpful. He's the son of former NFL head coach Norv Turner.
"It's going to be a physical system," Turner said. "We're going to run the football, we're going to be aggressive up front and try to chase explosive plays [in the passing game]. ... That's what we're going to be hunting."
Engstrand's biggest adjustment will be transitioning from Jared Goff, a pocket passer with little mobility, to Justin Fields, a dynamic runner. In theory, run-pass options should become a staple in the offense.
He disputed the idea that he's stepping outside his comfort zone, saying Fields' dual-threat ability "just opens things up more, that's all. It just adds another layer to what we can do with where we're going on offense."
Ultimately, Engstrand will be judged on Fields' performance. He's the Jets' $40 million reclamation project, a former first-round pick on his third team in three years. They see untapped potential in Fields, who showed modest improvement last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It's on Engstrand to extract the best out of Fields, who has struggled as a passer with a career 61% completion rate.
"Just talking to him, you can just tell he's really smart," Fields said of his new coordinator, his fourth in five years. "He knows what he's doing. I think he's very detailed with installing the plays and stuff like that, especially in the limited time that we have now. He's putting a lot on the guys' plate, our plate, but I think in the long run it'll help us."
A new coordinator and a new quarterback -- it's a song as old as time for the Jets, who haven't found the right combination. Over the past 15 years, they're dead last in points per game (17.5) and QBR (40.1).
They've produced quarterbacks that have succeeded elsewhere (Sam Darnold and Geno Smith), even a coach (most notably Schottenheimer), but it has been a long time since it all clicked for the Jets.
You're up, Tanner Engstrand.