New Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich will turn things around, say those who know him well
Then-Eagles coach Doug Pederson talks to offensive coordinator Frank Reich during a game in the 2016 season. Credit: Getty Images/Mitchell Leff
Frank Reich is well versed in facing massive challenges and overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. It could serve him well in his new role as Jets offensive coordinator.
Reich is taking over an offense that was among the worst in the NFL last season and needs a quarterback. It’s not an ideal situation, but those who have worked with Reich have no doubt that he’s the right man for this undertaking.
“Walking into that situation, that’s not easy,” former NFL running back Duce Staley, who coached with Reich in Philadelphia and Carolina, told Newsday. “You look at Frank and [he’s saying], ‘OK, guess what? I run to the fire. I don’t run away from the fire.’ He walked right into the Jets, and I promise you, he doesn’t sweat. When it comes to stuff like that, he invites that.
“[When] adversity is on the other side of the door, he’s knocking on that door, and he’s going through it.”
Reich, 64, who was born in Freeport, was an NFL quarterback for 14 years. He and Aaron Glenn were Jets teammates in 1996. Reich is best known for leading the greatest playoff comeback in NFL history; after trailing 35-3 in the third quarter, he orchestrated the Bills’ 41-38 win over the Oilers in January 1993.
If Reich can turn around the Jets’ offense, that would be another remarkable comeback and redemption story.
“He’s not shying away from it,” Staley said. “He’s running to it.”
Then-Panthers coach Frank Reich talks with assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley during the 2023 season. Credit: Getty Images/Jacob Kupferman
Reich won Super Bowl LII in his second and last season as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator. He went 40-33-1 in five seasons coaching the Colts. They reached the playoffs twice and finished in the top nine in scoring three times. Reich also had a brief stint as the Panthers’ head coach, fired after a 1-10 start in 2023.
Out of the NFL since, Reich resurfaced at Stanford in 2025 as interim head coach, then a senior adviser before being tapped by Glenn to run his offense.
“He deserves to be in this league,” Staley said. “He deserves to be a head coach in this league.”
Staley was the Eagles’ running backs coach and Reich’s assistant head coach with Carolina and currently is the Browns’ running backs coach.
Staley is confident that Reich will succeed with the Jets and get another chance to be a head coach.
“He’s going to go to New York and he’s going to get that offense going,” Staley said. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Doug Pederson was a first-time head coach with the Eagles in 2016 when he hired Reich. Pederson called the plays, but Reich was involved in all aspects of coordinating the offense, game plans and situational football. Pederson said Reich was “extremely valuable” in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl run.
Pederson believes that having Reich run the offense will make it easier for Glenn to focus on calling the defense, which he didn’t do last season.
“Frank’s going to make a great coordinator again,” Pederson told Newsday. “I think the Jets are in good hands with Frank. This really gives Aaron the confidence that he has a veteran, a former head coach, a great offensive coordinator. Aaron knows that the offense is going to be well taken care of.”
Some of Reich’s strengths, Pederson and Staley said, are his attention to detail, his ability to adapt and adjust in-game to how defenses are playing, and his ability to relate to players and teach.
Pederson and Staley said Reich is tremendous at developing quarterbacks. Before Carson Wentz tore an ACL in December in his second season with Philadelphia, he was a leading MVP candidate.
“Frank had such a big impact on that,” Pederson said.
That is one of the reasons Glenn turned to Reich after Justin Fields regressed in his first — and likely only — season with the Jets. They are a team in quarterback transition, which is nothing new for the Jets or Reich.
He had a rookie quarterback to work with in Philadelphia (Wentz) and Carolina (Bryce Young). In Indianapolis, Reich had a different Week 1 starting quarterback each year. The Jets likely will acquire a veteran or two and also draft a quarterback for Reich to develop.
“These are opportunities that Frank ultimately just loves and thrives in,” Pederson said. “He loves these challenges and he loves developing the quarterback position.”
No matter who the quarterbacks are, Staley said they will benefit from learning from Reich and new quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave, whom Staley worked with in Cleveland.
Staley said “there’s not a better quarterback coach in the league” than Reich. He added that with Reich and Musgrave together, “I promise you, whoever the quarterback is, they will get the best out of him and more.”
Pederson and Staley said Reich will rely on the run and that the old quarterback also will use motion, shifts and play-action and throw the ball downfield. Pederson expects Reich to line up Garrett Wilson in different spots and use the talented receiver in stack or bunch formations, among other alignments.
“Frank’s going to find unique ways to use him,” Pederson said. “I think it’s going to be great. This could be fun to watch.”
Fun would be an improvement, but winning will be critical for Glenn and Reich to be together in 2027. Glenn’s job security already is a big topic.
Staley worked with Glenn in Detroit and called him “a leader of men.” He loved that Glenn made changes internally in an effort to “get it right” and believes that Glenn and Reich are a fearless, driven pairing who will fix what’s ailing the Jets.
“These guys [are] saying, ‘I can’t tell you my future. I can’t tell you tomorrow,’ ” Staley said. “Yet they’re saying, ‘I got faith in everybody in this building that we’re going to turn it around.’ And they will.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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