The Detroit Lions lost two hugely important coordinators this offseason in Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson. While much has been made of both of their departures having an impact on the Lions' success this season, we're far too early in the year to draw any conclusions about that.
But, if you managed to catch the New York Jets' game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon right before the Lions game, you would have noticed one major change for the Jets from last season (and frankly, from the last few seasons): their offense looked good.
Newly signed quarterback Justin Fields was confident in the pocket, running backs Braelon Allen and Breece Hall had plenty of space to operate with off handoffs from Fields, and Fields suddenly looked like the promising young quarterback he's been projected to be since getting drafted by the Chicago Bears back in 2021.
That offense and its confidence is all thanks to former Lions passing coordinator and now-offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, who took his talents to New Jersey alongside Glenn this offseason to take on helming an entire system. The early returns there are excellent for the Jets, and a little concerning for the Lions.
Engstrand proving Lions should've considered keeping him on board
John Morton won over the offensive coordinator job after Johnson's departure, and all offseason, players have praised his ability to work with them and slide into the role with ease. However, Week 1 saw some major growing pains for Morton and the Lions' new offensive line, proving he's got a ton of work to do in order to help them along in their development.
On the flip side, New York managed to find 218 passing yards and 48 rushing yards for Fields alone, and Hall contributed 107 rushing yards to that effort. While there were some unfortunate dropped passes from Garrett Wilson and a muffed punt from Xavier Gipson, the offense was keeping up with a Steelers defense primed to wreak havoc on the AFC North. That's a major accomplishment for Engstrand, who is taking over from a dysfunctional coaching staff from 2024.
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Justin Fields of The Jet Press wrote after New York's loss in Week 1: "Engstrand managed to overcome a significant talent gap and orchestrated one of the Jets’ most impressive offensive performances in years. Jets fans should leave Sunday’s game feeling very encouraged by the work of their offensive coaching staff."
Detroit was likely fine with letting Engstrand walk as a result of them still having Morton in the fold. Losing Johnson was also an inevitability considering how well he did for the Lions at OC. But, with how shaky things looked for their 2025 offense in Week 1, it feels like Engstrand could've been a huge help in a bigger role with Detroit had he not been allowed to walk.