Atlanta adds former Jets OC to Kevin Stefanski’s staff

The Atlanta Falcons made another coaching staff Saturday under a new head coach Kevin Stefanskihas agreed to hire former New York Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand as its offensive pass coordinator for the 2026 season, according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.

Engstrand, 43, arrives in Atlanta shortly after parting ways with New York, where he oversaw the offense as offensive coordinator for the 2025 season under head coach Aaron Glenn. It wasn’t a great season for the Jets offense as they ranked 29th in yards per game and scoring, averaging just 263.6 yards and 17.6 points per game. New York was last in the league in passing yards and ranked 31st in passing touchdowns. Still, the team finished 10th in rushing yards and 11th in the league on the ground, led by Brice Hall, who recorded the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his four-year career.

The Jets’ woes on the scoreboard have hardly been divorced from quarterback instability. Justin Fields started nine games before being benched, veteran Tyrod Taylor missed time with an injury and undrafted rookie Brady Cook started the last four games. Star wide receiver Garrett Wilson also missed 10 games with a knee injury. After a 3-14 season, Glenn evaluated his staff and decided to move on from Engstrand, as the sides officially parted ways on Tuesday.

Prior to being a one-year NFL player, Engstrand spent five seasons with the Detroit Lions from 2020 to 2024. He worked under Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, serving as Detroit’s passing coordinator from 2022 to 2024. During that span, the NFL ranked No. 1 in passing yards and 0 touchdowns in all three seasons. In 2023 and 2024, Detroit finished second in passing yards and fourth in passing touchdowns.

Engstrand brings more than two decades of coaching experience, with six of those years spent in the NFL, college and professional breaks notwithstanding. His experience also includes offensive coordinator duties at the varsity level and with the KSFL’s DC Defenders in 2019 and 2020. He joins a rapidly forming Falcons coaching staff. Stefanski named Tommy Reese offensive coordinator, and Reese is ready to call the plays. Atlanta also hired Alex Van Pelt as quarterbacks coach, rejoining Stefanski after the two spent time together with the Cleveland Browns. Defensively, Jeff Ulbrich returns as coordinator, along with most of his unit.

With the coaching structure largely in place, the Falcons can now turn their attention to building the roster. The team has approximately $25.4 million in available salary cap space after the projected NFL cap increase for the 2026 season, according to Over The Cap projections.