Detroit promoted Tanner Engstrand to passing game coordinator in 2023.
Another name can be added to head coach Jerod Mayo’s rolodex of offensive coordinator candidates.
The New England Patriots plan to interview Detroit Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand for the opening, as first reported Friday by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Engstrand, 41, played quarterback at San Diego State and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Jim Harbaugh at the University of San Diego in 2005. He went on to serve as running backs coach, quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach during his Torreros tenure before joining the Michigan Wolverines as an offensive analyst in 2018.
An XFL stint as offensive coordinator of the DC Defenders followed before Engstrand entered the NFL ranks. Starting on Detroit’s staff as an offensive assistant in 2020, he was promoted to tight ends coach in 2022. His position group set a franchise record that campaign by combining for 12 touchdown receptions. In the process, and in a first for league history, three different tight ends notched multi-touchdown games by year’s end.
The title of passing game coordinator arrived in 2023 for Engstrand, who previously took on added responsibilities in that lane.
On the way to the NFC Championship Game, Lions quarterback Jared Goff finished the regular season having completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,575 yards with 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. First-team All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 119 passes for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns. And at tight end, rookie Pro Bowler Sam LaPorta earned second-team All-Pro honors after catching 86 passes for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns of his own.
New England has now been connected to seven offensive coordinator candidates since Bill O’Brien moved on to Ohio State. Along with Engstrand, current Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson and Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown stand among the latest additions to the reported list.