A former New York Jets offensive coordinator is back in the news.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter confirmed that Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur has received head coach interview requests from the Las Vegas Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals.
ESPN NFL Insider Peter Schrager was the first to share the news.
LaFleur’s Run With the Jets Ended Unceremoniously
LaFleur, 38, is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
When the Jets hired head coach Robert Saleh in 2021, he brought LaFleur with him to be his OC in New York.
Before joining the Jets, LaFleur had spent four years with the San Francisco 49ers as a passing game coordinator and as a wide receivers coach.
LaFleur only lasted two seasons in New York as the lead play caller.
“This likely was difficult for Saleh, who has known LaFleur for about 20 years. LaFleur is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, one of Saleh’s closest friends. A week ago, Saleh publicly advocated for Mike LaFleur, fueling speculation that owner Woody Johnson was pressuring to make a change. The Jets claimed that wasn’t the case, with general manager Joe Douglas saying Monday that Saleh has the final say on coaching-staff decisions,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini wrote in January of 2023.
The team described the parting of ways as “mutual.”
Regardless of the word salad, LaFleur quickly landed on his feet as the offensive coordinator of the Rams. He has worked closely with Sean McVay over the last three seasons.
He has done so well that he has now garnered head coaching buzz in the NFL.
Jets Continue to Mire in Mediocrity
LaFleur found greener pastures. The Rams are 32-19 during his three seasons with the squad and have made the playoffs in each of those years.
While the Jets over that same span are 15-36 and haven’t made the playoffs in any of those seasons. As a matter of fact, the Jets have missed the postseason for 15 years. That is the longest active drought in the league and the longest drought in Jets’ franchise history.
Worse than that, the Jets haven’t been able to find any consistency at the OC position.
The Jets replaced LaFleur with Nathaniel Hackett in 2023. While that led to a blockbuster trade with the Packers for Aaron Rodgers, it still didn’t work out on the field. Hackett was eventually canned, and the Jets went with a youth movement with this current regime.
Tanner Engstrand was hired, and the Jets delivered another awful season across the board, including on the offensive side of the ball. That has led to Engstrand’s future being uncertain with all of the losses and underwhelming statistics.
It seems at this point, Engstrand will survive his first season calling plays for the Jets. However, he is firmly on the hot seat heading into 2026.
The not-so-secret sauce to helping solve the OC issues is finding a quarterback. It’s hard to judge how good a playcaller someone is when their quarterback play is terrible.
We’ll see if the Jets can find one this offseason.
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