Almost a year ago, Andrew Luck hired Frank Reich as the interim caretaker for Stanford football. Reich guided Stanford to its most wins since 2020 and a 4-2 mark at home. He also led the Cardinal to a victory in the 128th Big Game when Stanford reclaimed The Axe with a 31-10 thumping of California.
"Stanford kind of re-energized me for coaching," Reich said Wednesday at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. "It just reminded me of my love for the game, for the sport, for the purity of just coaching, being out on the field with the guys."
When Jets HC Aaron Glenn called Reich about the Jets' offensive coordinator vacancy this offseason, Reich got energized about the opportunity to do something special.
"You know, got a couple phone calls on a couple fronts, nothing moved the needle for me," he told reporters. "But as soon as AG called, I knew right away this was something I wanted to do. Mainly because of him, but also because of the challenge and the opportunity to be a part of a staff and be a part of a team and organization that has an opportunity to do something special and turn something around. At this point, I love that idea and I'm excited about that and I feel like I got something to offer and contribute to helping that happen."
On Feb. 4, Glenn hired the experienced Reich to lead his offense. Then on March 11, the Jets acquired veteran QB Geno Smith and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick from the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2026 sixth-round pick. A second-round pick (No. 39) of the Jets in the 2013 NFL Draft, Smith has completed 65.2% of his passes for 22,168 yards with 124 TDs and 89 INTs over 12 seasons with five teams.
"I think he fits perfect," Reich said. "I've liked Geno from Day 1. When he was coming out of West Virginia I had a high grade on Geno. I'd not met Geno before here and I'm kind of glad because I'm even more impressed with him now meeting him in person. I feel his resilience, his toughness, I always think the No. 1 attribute in any quarterback that you need, especially if you want to come and turn something around, is you need someone who's tough. I mean tough mentally, tough physically, and I feel that from Geno on every front."
Smith started 15 games for the Raiders last season, connecting on 67.4% of his throws for 3,035 yards with 19 TDs and 17 INTs. Prior to joining the Raiders, Smith set single-season career-highs and Seahawks franchise records in 2024 for attempts (578, t-fourth in the NFL), completions (407, t-second in the NFL), yards (4,320, fourth in the NFL) and completion percentage (70.4%, fifth in the NFL). He had 10 games with above a 70.0% completion percentage.
"I think his experience, the ups and downs that he's been through, and he's had great success, and had to deal with some tough seasons," Reich said of Smith. "And if you play in this league long enough, everyone's going to face that. And if you are the person, if you're the right kind of leader, then you come out of it better, and I think that's the version of Geno Smith we're getting. We're getting the best version of who he is and I think his best football is ahead of him."
Reich, who appeared in 10 games and started 7 for the Jets during the 1996 season and was a teammate Glenn's, talked about his offensive philosophy with a group that added TE Kenyon Sadiq (No. 16 overall) and WR Omar Cooper Jr. (No. 30 overall) in the draft.
"It's certainly going to be no secret or surprise to say that we're going to want to run the football, and so we'll continue to emphasize that," he said. "And these guys ran the ball pretty well last year, so we'll build on that. But you also have to find ways to be dynamic in the passing game and be excellent in situational football, and the way to do that is to create problems that the defenses can't solve. You do that schematically, you do that personnel-wise. Those are the things that we're focused on as a coaching staff and that we'll work with the players on."
