Not everyone is on board with the changes the New York Jets have made offensively.

The additions of Frank Reich as the play-caller and Bill Musgrave as quarterback coach have brought contrasting opinions from fans and analysts. Critics point to both coaches’ struggles in recent years to keep up with modern influences in the game.

New York’s need for a new quarterback room doesn’t help matters either.

While many will look for the worst in either coaching hire, there’s reason to be optimistic for the Jets offense in 2026 — even before they fully commit to a starting quarterback in the near future.

Jets’ offensive philosophy

Let’s start with the obvious…

It’s always a very good thing when an organization like the Jets can bring quality offensive minds with quarterback experience to the team. The experience Musgrave and Reich have in the quarterback development category — however long it has been — should always be seen as a positive.

Reich helped signal-callers like Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, Philip Rivers, and Andrew Luck all play well under his tutelage. While he wasn’t always a play-caller, his experience as an NFL quarterback, coupled with his decades of coaching, provides a nurturing environment for any youngster.

Musgrave, on the other hand, helped kickstart Matt Ryan and Derek Carr’s careers. While Ryan is clearly the better player, the stint with Carr with the Raiders was easily the best we have seen from the now 35-year-old. Both Reich and Musgrave should be able to come in and immediately improve the Jets’ quarterback room’s competency.

Philosophically, the West Coast offense has been tied to the two coaches for decades now. Their system is predicated on short reads and getting the ball out quickly. Reich’s work in the RPO game was revolutionary in the late 2010s.

But after struggles at the end of his tenure in Indianapolis and a disastrous run with the Carolina Panthers, Reich has been out of the NFL for the last few years.

Critics will point to those struggles as evidence that the league is catching up to Reich’s scheme — and that may be true — but the Jets have an ace in the hole for those very concerns…

Passing game coordinator Seth Ryan.

Experience marrying youth

Once upon a time, a dynamic play-caller named Andy Reid was run out of Philadelphia after a 14-year run with the team, the final two of which were disastrous in nature. Critics pointed to Reid’s outdated offensive philosophy that had clearly been figured out by the 2012 campaign.

Reid moved to Kansas City and instantly modernized his offense with younger college coaches who had a bead on where the college game was heading. Reid altered his system to help Alex Smith’s career in a major way.

In his first season with the Chiefs, Smith made the first Pro Bowl of his nine-year career, and Reid’s offense ultimately led to the domination of Patrick Mahomes.

Reich is not Andy Reid; not by a long shot. But the concept of an aging offensive mind getting an infusion of philosophical and schematic ideas from younger specialists is not unheard of. That is exactly what the Jets are going for with the addition of Ryan as their passing game coordinator.

Ryan has been given a seal of approval of sorts from Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson — arguably one of the best offensive minds in the league today.

If Johnson can tout Ryan’s creativity in offensive circles, maybe the Jets are smart to bring him in to modernize Reich’s own offensive philosophy.

That is what fans forget. This won’t just be Frank Reich’s offense, or Bill Musgrave’s quarterback room. There will be ideas taken away from each individual and given a modern flair with Ryan in the building.

It’s what Jets fans have been mostly clamoring for over the last few years.

The same can be said with young Brian Duker supporting Aaron Glenn’s defense, whereas the special teams staff features a reverse design: veteran assistant Kevin O’Dea supporting Chris Banjo.

No one knows who the quarterback will be, but at the very least, the New York Jets’ ace-in-the-hole strategy of injecting youthful potential alongside veteran experience should provide a bit more optimism.