Jets hire Tanner Engstrand as offensive coordinator and Chris Banjo as special teams coordinator

The New York Jets hired Detroit Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand as their offensive coordinator and Denver Broncos assistant special teams coach Chris Banjo as their special teams coordinator on Friday.

Former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks agreed to terms Wednesday to take that same job with the Jets.

The hirings give new Jets coach Aaron Glenn his three coordinators as he begins assembling his staff.

Glenn, who was introduced as coach on Monday, worked with Engstrand in Detroit the past four years. The 42-year-old Engstrand joined the Lions in 2020 as an offensive assistant and was retained the next season after Dan Campbell took over as coach.

Engstrand was promoted to tight ends coach and passing game coordinator, and helped offensive coordinator Ben Johnson lead one of the NFL’s top passing offenses. The Lions topped the league with 564 points scored this season.

With the Jets, Engstrand could oversee an offense led by Aaron Rodgers — if the 41-year-old quarterback returns to the team. He has one year remaining on his contract, but has said he’d take time in the offseason to determine if he wants to continue playing, and Glenn and the Jets have to decide if they want Rodgers under center moving forward.

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who’s coming off three straight 1,000-yard seasons to start his career, will be a key piece for Engstrand, regardless of who’s at quarterback. New York also has three playmakers at running back in Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis.

The future of 32-year-old wide receiver Davante Adams is uncertain. He’s scheduled to make $35.64 million in each of the next two years, so the Jets could ask him to redo his deal or he could be released in the next few months. Adams also said after the season that Rodgers’ future could play a factor in his own decision.

Engstrand, a former quarterback at Grossmont College and San Diego State, began his coaching career at the University of San Diego under then-coach Jim Harbaugh in 2005. After 10 years in various roles there, including assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, he rejoined Harbaugh at Michigan in 2018 as an offensive analyst.

Engstrand was hired as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach of the XFL’s DC Defenders in 2020 before joining the Lions.

Banjo, who replaces Brant Boyer as the Jets’ special teams coordinator, is a former NFL safety and special teamer who spent 10 years in the league after stints with Jacksonville, Green Bay, New Orleans and Arizona.

After retiring as a player following the 2022 season, the 34-year-old Banjo joined the staff of Sean Payton — for whom he played in New Orleans — as Denver’s assistant special teams coach. Banjo worked in that role under coordinator Ben Kotwica and assistant head coach Mike Westhoff, a special teams guru, the last two seasons.

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