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New York Jets Use Last Chance Just Right
Aaron Glenn chose to hit reset across his coaching staff, so the New York Jets have a new look in 2026 and no more excuses. This is a great thing.
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Last week, we talked about the Giants’ new hires at the coordinator positions and how they would support John Harbaugh in his quest to bring the team back to glory. Seems good so far. The same goes for Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets, but with a twist.
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Glenn survived a rocky first season as head coach of New York, which allowed him to hire new offensive and defensive coordinators for the team. Setting aside the obvious question about why he’s hiring a new staff after one season, we instead let the failure on the field be reason enough. The men tasked with supporting Glenn in 2026 will be Brian Duker on the defensive side and none other than Frank Reich on the offensive side. What should we make of this new coaching staff?
New York Jets Coaching Hires
This Is It For Aaron Glenn
Todd Salem: Let’s start with Duker because, like the Giants, the DC hire is more straight-forward and less interesting. Also like the Giants’ move, Duker will be the coordinator for a defensive-minded head coach, meaning his input will likely take a backseat to what Glenn wants. He will be a legit support staff in this position.
Duker is only 36. He was a safeties and then defensive backs coach for the Lions a couple seasons ago before moving to Miami to be the Dolphins’ secondary coach. I wouldn’t say those spots had elite defenses by any means, though they perhaps outperformed expectations somewhat. Not that a unit’s success or failure could be attributed to the positional coach anyway.
So Duker is young and ready to take the next step into big-boy coaching positions. It’s a nice landing spot to fall in with a team led by a defensive presence like Glenn. Who knows how it will turn out, but the hire makes logical sense to me.
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On the offensive side is where things get interesting. Enter Frank Reich, he of many successes and failures in the NFL. Reich was an NFL quarterback for many years before moving into coaching. After a couple OC stops, he became the Indianapolis head coach in 2018. In five seasons, Reich led the Colts to three winning records and two playoff trips. It really wasn’t a bad performance considering Andrew Luck unexpectedly retired after Reich’s early success.
Nevertheless, he was fired after a bad 2022. He was immediately hired as Carolina’s HC, but that season was a disaster, and he didn’t even make it through the entirety of 2023. Being brought on as Jets OC is his first chance back in the NFL since.
You already know I love when a former head coach is brought on as coordinator. He brings a wider skillset but can also zero in on the specialty that made him a HC in the first place. Reich also has the credentials; he’s led some quality offenses in his time. I don’t worry about the HC flameouts as he joins the Jets, but the one worry I do have is his inability to raise the floor of his quarterbacks.
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After Luck retired, the Colts cycled through veterans. In Carolina, he had the chance to mold Bryce Young. I don’t blame him for those guys not turning into Pro Bowlers in those seasons, but you’d love for an offensive mind to be able to offer a baseline minimum that allows any QB to find some semblance of success. That is not what materialized, specifically with Carson Wentz and Young. As the Jets enter the offseason without a QB, do you really have confidence that Reich can hold steady if it’s another placeholder season for the position? I do not.
One other nice support piece, though, is having longtime OC Bill Musgrave as quarterbacks coach. Mirroring the Giants yet again (with Greg Roman in this instance), I wouldn’t want Musgrave as the Jets OC, but I like him as part of the staff in a lower position.
Even though it’ll only be year two for Glenn, this could be a make-or-break season. He’s had his chance to bring in another full staff in hopes of turning things around. Another scuffling season could see a different guy leading the Jets in 2027.
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All’s Well That Ends Well
Dan Salem: I’m quite optimistic about the New York Jets new coaching staff in 2026. With the roster fully turned over, this feels like a fresh start, even if Glenn is heading into his second season. Year two is absolutely a make or break season for Glenn, but the bar is not exceptionally high either. Most fans will be happy with a .500 season of competitive football, which is exactly what excites me about the new coaching staff.
Perhaps Glenn felt overwhelmed a bit in year one, taking on head coaching responsibilities for the first time, because I can think of no other explanation as to why he did not mold the defense to his liking. Or perhaps he tried, but with too much dead weight from the last regime, it was an impossible task. Regardless, his new hire of defensive coordinator ensures that the 2026 Jets defense will be his and his alone. Ride or die. Sink or swim. Fly or crash. Having already hit bottom, we can expect much more from the defense this year.
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New York’s offense actually felt okay last year, even though Justin Fields couldn’t throw the ball. Once the backups came in, things fell apart. Bringing in a Super Bowl winner and former head coach is the perfect upgrade, especially because Reich will help pick his quarterback. He is not the quarterbacks coach, so I’m not worried about him elevating his QB specifically. He’s proven he can run championship offenses. Let him elevate the Jets offense and show off Garrett Wilson for real.
We will get to see Glenn’s team in 2026. They added a lot of great pieces heading into last season, and they moved on from lockerroom trouble makers, netting major draft capital in the process. Now with an upgrade on the sidelines, nothing stands in the way of the Jets achieving their goal of being mediocre. The bar is low and I expect them to surpass it.
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Meet our Sports Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.
New York Jets Coaches – This Is The End
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