Jets Fire Several Assistant Coaches; Tanner Engstrand’s Future Unclear
9:00pm: Engtrand’s future with the Jets remains unclear at this time, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic confirms. He adds Glenn has reached out to “multiple offensive assistants” about calling plays. An external OC search could be forthcoming, but a number of internal decisions will need to be made first.
3:25pm: The first year of Aaron Glenn‘s tenure as head coach of the Jets has come and gone, and with it, several coaches from his first assembled staff in New York have reportedly hit the road. 
Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports quarterbacks coach Charles London, passing game coordinator Scott Turner, defensive line coach Eric Washington, linebackers coach Aaron Curry, and defensive assistants Roosevelt Williams and Alonso Escalante have all been let go after their first year under Glenn in New York. Despite the dismissal of several key offensive assistant coaches, offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand notably remains in place, after Glenn dismissed defensive coordinator Steve Wilks midseason.
While it’s not uncommon for first-time head coaches to make adjustments to their staff after a first attempt, this is a pretty large amount of turnover for Glenn. After letting go of one coordinator in December, hanging on to Engstrand might have been a necessity, but per Wilson, after Engstrand’s unit finished 29th out of 32 teams in both total points and total yards, a change in structures, roles, and responsibilities was expected. That structure has yet to be strictly defined, but with the dismissal of London and Turner, it’s clear a change in the approach to the passing game is a top priority.
The Jets will obviously be looking to add a quarterback for 2026, and they’ll rely on Engstrand to build a strong support staff to either develop a young draft pick or implement a new veteran addition. New York has assembled a group of pass catchers that features Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, and tight end Mason Taylor, but with free agency and the draft still to determine much of how the rest of the offense will look moving forward, putting together the right staff around the pieces they know are in place becomes a crucial consideration.
The dismissal of multiple defensive staffers was mostly expected. The unit was handicapped by the front office a bit after trades that removed star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and star cornerback Sauce Gardner from the picture, and injury issues surely didn’t help. Still, the Jets defense allowed the second-most points of any defense in the NFL, allowed the most touchdowns through the air of any team in the NFL, and became the first defense in NFL history not to record a single interception (since interceptions became a stat).
Turning around this Jets team was already going to be a struggle for Glenn and Co., and that job got harder with the loss of some top talent over the course of Glenn’s first season. Now, New York is hitting a bit of reset in Year 2 of the 53-year-old head coach, who now needs to hire a defensive coordinator and fill three position coach openings. Once the staffing is complete, the Jets will turn their attention towards reinforcing their depleted roster with what Overthecap.com says is the fifth-most cap space in the league and two first-round picks.
Commanders Block Jets From David Blough Interview; New York Adds Scott Turner, Eric Washington To Staff
Former coordinators and those on the coordinator interview circuit will line Aaron Glenn‘s first Jets coaching staff. The team has now added two ex-coordinators to Glenn’s staff, with three other additions having received interest on the coordinator level.
Scott Turner is joining the Jets as their pass-game coordinator, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Turner closed the season as the Raiders’ interim OC and had previously called plays for the Panthers and Commanders. Glenn is also bringing 2024 Bears DC Eric Washington on as his defensive line coach, CBS Sports Jonathan Jones adds. The Bears moved on from Washington last month.
The Jets are also following through with the rumored Glenn-Chris Harris partnership, with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter noting the veteran assistant is heading to New York as Gang Green’s defensive pass-game coordinator and DBs coach. Harris had spent the past two seasons with the Titans. Charles London is also moving from Seahawks QBs coach to the same position with the Jets, Pelissero adds. London worked with Harris on the 2023 Titans staff. A recent report indicated the Titans and Harris were expected to separate.
London is heading to New York after the Jets did not receive permission to meet with David Blough. They had reached out to the Commanders about interviewing their assistant QBs coach, but Pelissero indicates the NFC East club blocked the meeting. Clubs are allowed to block contracted assistants, so long as the interview does not pertain to move up to a coordinator or HC post. Blough, who only ended his playing career after the 2023 season, overlapped with Glenn and new Lions OC Tanner Engstrand in Detroit. The Bears and Jaguars also expressed interest in meeting with him, but the Commanders are prepared to keep him for the 2025 season.
Staying on the subject of blocked interviews, the Jets made such a move as well. They are keeping wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson, SNY’s Connor Hughes adds, pointing out the team blocked other clubs from meetings. A former NFL wideout, Jefferson has enjoyed two tours of duty with the Jets (under Adam Gase from 2019-20 and again last season). He also was a Glenn divisional opponent from 1996-99, as the two would match up as members of the Jets and Patriots. Twice a Super Bowl starter, Jefferson has been a wideouts coach since 2007.
Glenn and Turner have not overlapped, but the latter will be a veteran voice in Engstrand’s first OC season. Turner had come up about possibly joining Bill Belichick‘s North Carolina staff but later emerged on Gang Green’s radar. The second-generation NFL coach will stay in the league as part of the Jets’ staff. Turner served as interim Panthers OC in 2019 and then spent three seasons as Washington’s OC. Ron Rivera fired Turner in 2023, leading the latter to the Raiders as pass-game coordinator. Antonio Pierce bumped him to OC after firing Luke Getsy midseason. Turner has yet to oversee a top-16 offense, but he has 13 years’ experience in the pros.
Washington will return to the AFC East, after his Bears stopover; he previously spent four seasons as Sean McDermott’s D-line coach in Buffalo. Washington did not shift to the play-caller in Chicago until after Matt Eberflus‘ Black Friday firing. The Bears did rank 13th in scoring defense this past season, and Washington also helmed the Panthers’ defense under Rivera from 2018-19. Washington and new Jets DC Steve Wilks were longtime staffers under Rivera with Carolina.
A running backs coach from 2014-20, London transitioned to QBs with the Falcons and has since overseen the position with the Titans and Seahawks. London interviewed with the Commanders to replace Turner in 2023, also meeting with the Titans that year, and met about the Browns’ vacancy last month. He spoke with the Rams about their OC job in 2022. Harris worked with Turner under Rivera for three seasons in Washington but moved to Tennessee in 2023. He has come up for a few DC openings, including the Jets’ this year.
Closing out this sizable Jets staff update, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets they are adding Aaron Curry as their linebackers coach. A former top-five pick, Curry did not pan out as a player. But he has been rising up the assistant ranks in recent years. After a Seahawks stint, the ex-Seattle draftee spent the past two seasons as the Steelers’ inside linebackers coach.
Steelers Add Aaron Curry To Staff
Former top-five draftee Aaron Curry is moving up the ladder in the coaching ranks. After spending three seasons as a Seahawks assistant, he is joining the Steelers’ staff as a position coach.
The one-time No. 4 overall pick tweeted he will be Pittsburgh-bound, and Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes (via Twitter) the Steelers are hiring Curry as their inside linebackers coach. Longtime Steelers assistant Jerry Olsavsky will not be back for the 2023 season, Dulac tweets. The Steelers have since announced Curry’s hire.
Curry, 36, will arrive shortly after Brian Flores left to become the Vikings’ defensive coordinator. Flores was not expected to stay long, with Mike Tomlin hiring the veteran staffer as his linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant after his surprise Miami exit. The Steelers will now turn the keys over to a younger staffer.
Although Curry’s NFL playing career did not pan out as expected, he is one of the highest-drafted off-ball linebackers in modern NFL history and has been coaching for nearly 10 years now. After spending five seasons at the University of Charlotte, Curry joined the Seahawks — the team that drafted him 14 years ago — as an assistant. He spent the past three years as a Seattle defensive staffer. This will be his first go-round being an NFL position coach.
The Steelers’ defensive staff will look at bit different in 2023. Assistant HC John Mitchell retired after 29 seasons with the organization, and Olsavsky is out after 22 years — as a player and coach — with the team. A former Steelers 10th-round pick who played nine seasons with the team (37 starts), Olsavsky had been on Tomlin’s staff for the past 13 seasons — eight as inside linebackers coach.