For Jets fans of a certain age, Jan. 12, 1969, Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami, is a day and game that lives on in memory. For Jets offensive coordinator and Long Island native Frank Reich, the Jets' 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts, authored by QB Joe Namath and his teammates, remains a defining event.

"Listen, there's a million Jets fans everywhere, but like, I was the quintessential fan growing up," Reich told team reporter Eric Allen on "The Official Jets Podcast." "I mean, Joe Namath ... that's my first childhood memory, Super Bowl III. I had written to him and got his autograph. I was convinced that he just saw that it was for me and wanted to write me a personal autograph, and that was it.

"He was the guy, and the Jets were the team. I knew every player on that team. Winston Hill, I mean, the whole crew: Emerson Boozer, Matt Snell, George Sauer. All of them. Don Maynard and Richard Castor. So I'm a huge Jets fan. So it is so fun for me to be here."

Reich's dad was the football coach at Lawrence HS, and Reich was born in Freeport (which is also the hometown of Jets legend D'Brickashaw Ferguson). The family moved to Pennsylvania about two years after Frank was born, but perhaps it was that autograph from Namath that set him on a path leading to being a (mostly backup) quarterback in the NFL and later a coach.

"As a backup quarterback, I just think you're like an assistant coach," he said. "I mean, for 14 years as a backup [mostly to Jim Kelly in Buffalo], I was trying to help the offensive coordinator get his message across to the whole team. In particular, as a backup QB, I felt like I knew what the starting quarterback wanted more than anybody."

Harrison Phillips Likes 'Position Flexibility' on D-Line

In addition to holdovers Harrison Phillips (6-3, 307), Jowon Briggs  (6-1, 313), Mazi Smith (6-3, 337) and Payton Page (6-4, 300) GM Darren Mougey reinforced and bulked up the Jets' defensive interior in the NFL Draft and free agency.

"It's not often a 310-pound D-tackle is a smaller D-tackle in your room," D-tackle Harrison Phillips said, speaking about himself, after Tuesday's joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. "I don't know everyone's weight, but I think I'm on the lighter side of our guys."

The Jets selected DT Darrell Jackson Jr. (6-5, 315) in Round 4. In free agency, the Green & White added David Onyemata (6-3, 300), and they also traded for T'Vondre Sweat (6-4, 366). Second-year DT Jack Heflin (6-4, 304) signed a reserve/future contract in February and has had several impressive reps this summer.

"What I do like is that we have a ton of position flexibility," Phillips said. "Even though we have some large people, they have different skill sets, and it's going to do a lot for us. This is a matchup league. I know you hear that more on how running backs and tight ends fit up with linebackers or corners versus receivers, but it's the same thing in the trenches.

"And so we might see a team that's got a tackle who can't sit on power very well. So, we have some really big body people that we can go out there and say, 'Hey, let's get some work on this tackle.' A week later, we might see a light center who can't anchor to power, and now we're able to move guys on that guy and say, 'Hey, you know, we're having issues, or we got a two-hand puncher. We need a guy who can win through the B gap high.' We got a body type and a skill set that can do that. And so I think the versatility of our defensive front is really good."

Isaiah Williams: 'Ultimate NFL Story' and 'Ultimate Competitor'

Special teams coordinator Chris Banjo knows he and the Jets have someone exceptional on their hands in Isaiah Williams. Last season the electrifying Williams averaged 14.1 yards per punt return, which was fifth among all qualifying NFL punt returners and third-highest in Jets franchise history (among qualifiers). He returned a pair of punts for TDs, the best for a Jets player in 23 seasons. HC Aaron Glenn simply calls him "a dude."

"When you talk about an ultimate NFL story, I don't know if there's ever been something similar," Banjo said. "A guy who got here late, like he did last year, a guy who got cut but then still ends up being the [team] MVP. I feel like you can't make that up. So that's the beautiful thing I think about our game, that so many different people come from so many different backgrounds and have different journeys, and if you take the time to look at them individually, there's something so beautiful about each one of them."

He added: "I think he's a very great symbol of what an ultimate competitor looks like. Whether he's asked to do something on special teams, whether he's asked to play on the offensive side of it. A lot of people don't know he took a gunner rep for us in London last year, and he was just as competitive. So I think with him, he's just a competitor. The definition of a competitor."