Frank Reich has coached and played in the NFL for over 40 years. Now, he’s taking that experience to Florham Park as the new offensive coordinator of the New York Jets.

Head coach Aaron Glenn, a former teammate of Reich’s in the 1990s, wanted to bring stability to an offense that was among the league’s worst in his debut season. Glenn is hoping Reich can fix what he thought Tanner Engstrand could not.

With Glenn trending toward calling defensive plays, Reich is the Jets’ new “head coach of the offense,” if you will.

But while the Jets will celebrate this hire, there are legitimate, major concerns that need to be discussed. As with any hire, there are positives and negatives.

For Reich, the differences between those two sides are stark and worthy of examination.

Good: Reich has worked with plenty of QBs

From Carson Wentz, to Nick Foles, to Andrew Luck, to Phillip Rivers, Reich has worked with plenty of solid quarterbacks throughout his career. The fact that he was one himself also helps in this category.

The Jets could very well draft a signal-caller this year. To help a rookie develop the right way, they will need the kind of nurturing Reich is used to providing.

By bringing Reich into the fold, the Jets are signaling their intent to develop young talent in the quarterback room. They understand that all eyes are on the position.

Bad: Jets’ scheme last season was better than Reich’s last

There’s an argument to be made that, from a schematic standpoint, the Jets’ previous offensive scheme under Tanner Engstrand was better than the one Reich is bringing in.

Reich flamed out in Indianapolis and Carolina because he couldn’t update his scheme quickly enough to keep up with modern defenses. It’s part of why he was fired mid-season in back-to-back years.

Three years later, with no further NFL experience under his belt, what makes the Jets believe Reich can be the kind of play-caller that can scheme open Garrett Wilson? Or any other receiver in a league that is built upon beating defenses mentally?

There will likely be a scheme drop-off between whatever Reich runs and what Tanner Engstrand brought to the table. Although the Jets struggled to score points in 2025, the separation was there. Engstrand got receivers open; the quarterbacks just couldn’t hit them.

If the Jets don’t have the talent to overcome it, 2026 could be even uglier on offense.

Good: Years of experience in play-calling

While Reich was not a play-caller in Philadelphia, he did have success as one with the Colts.

Having the feel to call the right play at the right time is an underrated thing the Jets have missed in recent years. Mike LaFleur and Tanner Engstrand were inexperienced play-callers. Reich coming in as the most experienced offensive play-caller the team has had in years is a promising development in Year 2 under Glenn.

It’s a sign they have a firm hand on the wheel.

Bad: This isn’t a long-term fix

Reich is 64 years old. Last season, he only agreed to coach Stanford for a single year before retiring again. Reports indicate that he is taking the Jets job to help out an old teammate in Glenn.

This isn’t the kind of long-term fix that the Jets need for their offense. It’s a hire meant to save everyone’s job in 2026. Gambling on that is dangerous for this coaching staff and roster.

If the results don’t shift immediately, the Jets will probably be going back to the drawing board.

Good: No threat to AG’s leadership

The worst thing that can happen to the Jets this offseason (and going into the regular season) is coaches and players finger-pointing about why things are going wrong for the organization.

An offensive coordinator defying their head coach is not what the Jets need in 2026.

Reich won’t be that guy. He’s an even-keeled presence who is coming to New York as a favor to Glenn, to help stabilize his offense. He won’t be the team’s head coach in 2027 if this ship capsizes; he’ll simply retire.

That’s a welcome sign for Glenn and something that should help maintain the chemistry of the coaching staff going forward.

Bad: Hiring process highlights Jets’ main issue

There is no denying that Aaron Glenn struggled immensely to find the right coaches this offseason.

The Jets’ process seemed flawed from the very beginning, whether it was being at the doorstep of a Wink Martindale deal only to turn around and hire a last-second addition to the search (seemingly so their head coach can call plays), to deciding to make a change at offensive coordinator three weeks into the offseason.

Reich may very well stabilize the offense and help the Jets be more competitive than his predecessor. But there is legitimate concern about his scheme being outdated.

For an organization already dealing with major concerns about its obsolete processes, this hiring process did not inspire confidence that they are ready to catch up with the modern NFL.

It only further highlighted New York’s archaic mindset.