After a disastrous stint in Carolina and a one-year return to coaching as Stanford’s interim coach in 2025, Frank Reich arrived with a fresh perspective as the Jets’ offensive coordinator.
Now, he’s hoping the lessons from those difficult experiences will help him succeed in his latest NFL opportunity.
“Trust players,” Reich said following Friday’s practice. “This game is about players. You can’t flinch. We as a coaching staff, as an offensive coaching staff, talk about it all the time. We know we have the talent to do what we want to do this year.
“What exactly does that look like? I’m not sure yet. I just know we have the talent and we have the quarterback to do good things. So we’ve just got to work really hard. We’ve got to weather storms because, if you’ve been in this league long enough, you’re going to go through down times. You need to learn to stay even-keeled, but with a sense of urgency. Even-keeled — not too high, not too low — but with a fire in your belly.
“We’re going to win, and we’re going to be consistent.”
Reich was one-and-done in his last NFL job after being fired 11 games into his tenure with the Panthers in 2023. He later became Stanford’s interim coach after his former quarterback, Andrew Luck, became the school’s general manager.
Despite the Jets’ 15-year playoff drought and the franchise’s recent struggles — particularly at quarterback — Reich still took the job.
Reich, 64, will be the fifth different offensive play-caller for the Jets in six seasons. He will be tasked with improving a unit that finished 29th in both scoring and total offense last season.
After a 3-14 finish, Jets coach Aaron Glenn revamped his coaching staff. In addition to hiring Reich, he replaced roughly half of his assistants.
New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith and offensive coordinator Frank Reich participate during an NFL football practice in Florham Park, N.J. on June 10, 2026. (Seth Wenig/AP)
After the Jets moved on from Tanner Engstrand in January, Glenn wanted a veteran coach to oversee the offense after having a first-time coordinator last season. Reich and Glenn were teammates on the 1996 Jets.
Through the early stages of training camp, Reich’s offense already appears more evolved than the last one he coached in the NFL. He has deployed players in a variety of roles and has shown more schematic versatility.
“I’m excited about the schematic advantages that he’s able to create, but also the ways that he allows players to go out there and make plays and have the freedom to take ownership of the offense,” Jets quarterback Geno Smith said.
“I think there’s a fine balance between X’s and O’s and having great players and allowing those guys to be themselves. Coach Reich, again, he played in the league, so he understands that dynamic and that balance. He’s doing a great job of giving us the game plan, letting us go out there and execute, while also coaching us hard and making sure we’re doing things the right way.”
The key will be whether Reich can help Smith recapture the form he showed a few seasons ago.
Smith has thrown an NFL-high 31 interceptions over the past two seasons. That includes last year, when he led the league with 17 interceptions during his lone season with the 3-14 Raiders.
It’s only been seven training camp practices, but Smith has continued to build chemistry with his receivers, especially Garrett Wilson. The two connected five times during Friday’s practice, including one pass in which Wilson leaped over Azareye’h Thomas and made the catch at its highest point.
The Jets could also benefit from Smith’s leadership on and off the field. Last season, they were the NFL’s third-youngest team, and at times that inexperience showed as they made costly mistakes and faded late in games.
“Geno’s a leader,” Reich said. “He’s the leader of the offense, make no mistake about it, in every way, shape and form. What has become crystal clear to me early in training camp is his laser focus.
“This man is laser focused in a way people don’t understand. He comes to work every day locked in, and I feel like the whole offense feeds off that. That’s a really big deal. The other thing that struck me is, I don’t know how old he is, but it feels like he’s 28. Physically, he’s in his prime. His arm, the way he moves, his feet in the pocket — he’s physically in his prime.”