{"id":719684,"date":"2026-01-31T18:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T18:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/719684\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T18:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T18:46:15","slug":"ranking-new-york-jets-oc-candidates-whos-the-least-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/719684\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking New York Jets’ OC candidates: Who’s the least bad?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Less than two days after parting ways with offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, the New York Jets announced interviews with five candidates<\/a> to fill the vacancy.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s rank the candidates from worst to best as we take an in-depth look at their resumes and potential fit with Gang Green.<\/p>\n

5. Lunda Wells<\/p>\n

Wells, 42, has spent the last six seasons in Dallas serving as the Cowboys\u2019 tight ends coach.<\/p>\n

While his track record developing tight ends is impressive, evidenced by the success of Dalton Schultz and Jake Ferguson, the 42-year-old is too inexperienced to warrant a play-calling job in 2026.<\/p>\n

Before his time in Dallas, Wells spent eight seasons with the New York Giants, serving as the Giants\u2019 assistant offensive line coach and tight ends coach.<\/p>\n

Wells has done a terrific job in his role, but his lack of experience is a concern. Aside from having zero play-calling experience, he hasn\u2019t even served as a run or pass-game coordinator.<\/p>\n

While the team also doesn\u2019t need a retread as their next OC, they certainly need someone with more experience than Wells brings to the table.<\/p>\n

4. Darrell Bevell<\/p>\n

Bevell has had four stints as an OC at the NFL level, while spending the past four seasons with the Miami Dolphins as their quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator.<\/p>\n

The 56-year-old is best known for his seven-season tenure (2011-17) as the Seattle Seahawks\u2019 offensive coordinator, during which Seattle won a Super Bowl and made it to another.<\/p>\n

However, Bevell has struggled to find success since then.<\/p>\n

Darell Bevell has not overseen an offense that ranked top-15 in offensive DVOA since being 15th in 2017 with the Seahawks and getting fired due to its underperformance<\/p>\n

Hasn’t been top 10 since 2015<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) January 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

None of Bevell\u2019s offenses have ranked in the top 15 (per DVOA) since his 2017 season in Seattle. However, that was still considered an underperformance, and he was canned following that season. Since then, Bevell has had underwhelming runs as the OC for Detroit (2019-20) and Jacksonville (2021).<\/p>\n

Bevell has not overseen sustained offensive success in the last decade. Although Miami\u2019s offense reached high peaks during his tenure on staff, the results were inconsistent, and head coach Mike McDaniel handled play-calling duties while Bevell was an assistant.<\/p>\n

Hiring Bevell would be an extremely questionable move by New York, given how long it has been since he has had any NFL success.<\/p>\n

3. Frank Reich<\/p>\n

Reich is the best-known and arguably most popular candidate among the five who have been interviewed.<\/p>\n

The former quarterback has spent multiple runs as an offensive coordinator and head coach at the NFL level, while spending the 2025 season as Stanford\u2019s head coach, leading the program to a 4-8 record, which was the Cardinal\u2019s best year since 2020.<\/p>\n

However, Reich is a perfect example of why experience shouldn\u2019t be the Jets\u2019 priority when hunting for their next OC.<\/p>\n

While Reich offers no shortage of experience, most of his recent experience ended in failure.<\/p>\n

His last two stints at the NFL level ended with in-season firings. As the Indianapolis Colts\u2019 head coach and offensive play-caller in 2022, he was fired after a 3-5-1 start, with Indy\u2019s offense averaging a grim 14.7 points per game.<\/p>\n

In 2023, he earned a second opportunity as a head coach and offensive play-caller with the Carolina Panthers. It didn\u2019t last long. Following a 1-10 start, Reich was fired in-season before stepping away from football for a season.<\/p>\n

Even setting aside his broader struggles at the NFL level, Reich\u2019s recent body of work offers little confidence in his ability to groom a young quarterback, evidenced by his 2023 stint as the Panthers\u2019 head coach, where top overall pick Bryce Young endured a historically poor rookie season under Reich\u2019s watch.<\/p>\n

Despite the tremendous risk involved, Reich seems to be the front-runner to earn the job, as ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter reports that sources \u201chandicap\u201d the 64-year-old as the favorite.<\/p>\n

Jets completed five interviews for their Offensive Coordinator job: Darrell Bevell, Ronald Curry, Frank Reich, Greg Roman and Lunda Wells. Some league sources handicap Reich as a favorite.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Ronald Curry<\/p>\n

Curry, 46, has spent the last two seasons with the Buffalo Bills as their quarterbacks coach under offensive coordinator Joe Brady.<\/p>\n

Prior to his time in Buffalo, Curry served as the New Orleans Saints\u2019 quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator (2022-23). <\/p>\n

Under his watch in 2022, the Saints\u2019 passing offense ranked in the league\u2019s bottom 10, per DVOA, while they climbed a few spots to No. 18 in his second year after signing Derek Carr.<\/p>\n

Curry wouldn\u2019t move the needle much for New York. However, it would make more sense for the Jets to hand him the reins compared to the less experienced Wells or a retread like Reich or Bevell, who have not found any success as NFL play-callers in their most recent stints.<\/p>\n

Curry has experience as a passing game coordinator and has spent time learning under one of the league\u2019s top offensive play-callers. That counts for something.<\/p>\n

However, if Curry is the Jets\u2019 pivot, it only strengthens the case that they were better off giving Engstrand a second season rather than prematurely firing him<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Greg Roman<\/p>\n

The No. 1 ranking is less a glowing review of Roman and more a way of saying, \u201cThis is how unappealing the other candidates are.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Roman is far from a perfect candidate, he is the most appealing on this list.<\/p>\n

He is also reportedly among three finalists for the position.<\/p>\n

Former Chargers OC Greg Roman will be part of the Jets\u2019 in-person interviews for an offensive coordinator early next week, per sources. <\/p>\n

New York interviewed five candidates virtually and will whittle that list down to three for in-persons. Roman is one. pic.twitter.com\/dgOzGrIuln<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The 53-year-old has had four stints as an NFL offensive coordinator, serving in that role for the San Francisco 49ers (2011-14), the Buffalo Bills (2015-16), and the Baltimore Ravens (2019-2022) before heading out west and spending the 2024-25 seasons as the Los Angeles Chargers\u2019 OC under Jim Harbaugh.<\/p>\n

There are certainly reasons for fans to be concerned if the Jets go this route. In L.A., Justin Herbert\u2019s production dipped under Roman\u2019s play-calling. The Oregon product averaged 47 fewer passing yards per game with Roman than he did in seasons without him, along with six fewer passing touchdowns per 17 games.<\/p>\n

A similar trend appeared in Baltimore, where Lamar Jackson\u2019s passing efficiency spiked after the Ravens swapped Roman for Todd Monken.<\/p>\n

Lamar Jackson pass Y\/A by year\u2026<\/p>\n

2019 (Roman): 7.8
2020 (Roman): 7.3
2021 (Roman): 7.5
2022 (Roman): 6.9
2023 (Monken): 8.0
2024 (Monken): 8.8
2025 (Monken): 8.4<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) January 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

However, Roman remains one of the NFL\u2019s most innovative run-game designers. Across Roman\u2019s four seasons in Baltimore (2019-22), the Ravens led the league with 175.2 rushing yards per game.<\/p>\n

Overall, this list of candidates proves exactly why the Jets were better off giving Engstrand a second season.<\/p>\n