Jets Hire Bill Musgrave As QBs Coach

Merkle, Nettle and Sargent all spent last season at Stanford, where they worked on interim head coach Frank Reich‘s staff. They’re now following Reich, the Jets’ new offensive coordinator, to the pros.

Musgrave, the most notable and established hire in this quartet, is a former NFL QB whose experience as a coach dates back to the late 1990s. He began as the Raiders’ QBs coach in 1997 and has gone on to hold that position with several other teams, including the Browns in 2025. The 58-year-old is also a multi-time offensive coordinator in the league, most recently with the Broncos in 2018.

Cleveland had a less-than-ideal situation under center last season, when Musgrave coached Joe Flacco before an early October trade to Cincinnati. Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders divided the rest of the season as the Browns’ starter, and the team went on to finish 31st in passing.

The only club that had less success through the air in 2025 was the Jets, who averaged a meager 140.3 yards per game (the Browns put up 165.2). They may wipe the slate clean at QB this offseason as a result, though there is mutual interest in re-signing journeyman backup Tyrod Taylor. The Jets are expected to release Justin Fields, which would leave Brady Cook and Hendon Hooker as the only signal-callers in the building if they don’t re-sign Taylor.

Considering they have no in-house answers at the position, the Jets are strong candidates to explore free agency and the trade market for QB additions this offseason. With that in mind, it’s worth pointing out a couple of Musgrave’s former pupils will be available.

The 41-year-old Flacco, an ex- Jet, is scheduled to reach the open market next month. There’s also Derek Carr, who played under Musgrave in Oakland from 2015-16, as a potential trade target. Carr didn’t play last season, but the soon-to-be 35-year-old may come out of retirement in 2026. For what it’s worth, he’s a Musgrave fan.

“He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever been around when it comes to analytics numbers and percentages and things like that,” Carr said of Musgrave in 2018 (via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). “He’s one of the smartest people that I’ve ever been around.’’

Although the Saints still hold Carr’s rights, they’re not going to demand anything of real value in a trade. The Jets could end up among the teams interested in Carr as a cheap stopgap, especially given his connection to Musgrave. They pursued Carr when his stock was much higher in 2023, but he ultimately joined the Saints on a four-year, $150MM deal. After striking out on Carr, the Jets pivoted to an Aaron Rodgers trade with the Packers.