Allen Park — While Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn garnered interview requests from nearly every team with head coaching vacancies this past offseason, some of the team's other assistants also drew interest for potential promotions.
At the top of that list was Tanner Engstrand, Detroit's passing game coordinator and Johnson's right-hand man. Three years older than the offensive coordinator, Engstrand has, in many ways, mirrored Johnson's rise in Detroit. Both started as low-level offensive assistants, briefly worked with the team's tight ends and served in the pass-game coordinator role.
Had Johnson taken a head coaching job this offseason, Engstrand would have been one of the top choices to replace him in Detroit.
Other teams also see that offensive coordinator potential. He interviewed with both New England and Tampa Bay for their openings, while also fielding an interview request from the Seattle Seahawks. But Engstrand, like Johnson, ended back in Detroit, with an opportunity to further strengthen his resume ahead of the next hiring cycle.
"You're always going to be present where you're at and I couldn't be happier to be anywhere else than here right now," Engstrand said. "But yeah, (having the chance to interview for coordinator jobs) was great. It was a good opportunity to go talk to some people and be put in the spotlight. I shouldn't say spotlight, but, you know, kind of put under the fire.
"It made me realize where your convictions are when you're talking to them, because you can't hide it. When they just start shooting things off at you it's like, well, you know where you're grounded and you know what you believe in. And the good thing is I believe in exactly what we're doing here."
What are those convictions? They're the same you've heard echoed by Detroit's coaching staff since the arrival of coach Dan Campbell in 2021 — Engstrand strongly believes in physicality and being detail-oriented. But those principles were instilled and nurtured long before his arrival in Detroit. The former college quarterback got his coaching start at the University of San Diego, under former Michigan and current Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, who abides by the same tenets.
Where Engstrand has evolved in Detroit, working under Johnson, is the increased value he places on explosive plays. As much as you can set a tone with a 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust mentality, the league's most successful attacks are built around the ability to regularly generate big gains. Of course, that's a big part of Engstrand's role as pass game coordinator, finding ways to unlock that potential weekly.
"I think that's something that is, again, at the forefront of our minds as we're trying to game plan and win these games," he said. "That's been something that's been fostered."
Although Engstrand has never held the coordinator title in the NFL, he's sat in the seat before at two other levels, including his final seven years at the University of San Diego. He also led the offense for the XFL's D.C. Defenders in 2020, his last stop before coming to Detroit.
