Earlier this week we asked Jets owner Woody Johnson would bring back Rex Ryan to coach the team. While it’s unknown whether Woody would do it, the other half of the equation is.
Rex would be back soon.
During his weekly performance on ESPN New York Bart & HahnRyan brought up his desire to coach the team again with no questions asked on the subject. Instead, Ryan talked about Dan Campbell’s impact on the Lions as the face of the franchise, working with the rest of the front office, as he focused on his not-so-secret ambitions.
“I had a vision for the team and we weren’t going to take anything,” Ryan said. “And that’s exactly how Dan Campbell is. And that’s what I think, the other thing too is you have to get a guy who connects with the fan base and all that. That’s why I want to be the next coach of the Jets.”
Ryan added that he has not spoken to Johnson about returning, and that Johnson will not begin the search until after the season ends.
Ultimately, the discussion turned to the balance between keeping the core of the current roster in place versus “blowing this whole thing up.”
“I look at it this way,” Ryan said. “Blow it up? We’re going to blow up the opponents. There’s way too much talent on this team to play the way we played. Period. Period. And how hard can you get someone to play?… That’s the point. Nobody has seen a team play as hard as this team is going to play in the future, believe me.
‘And that will be it. That’s what’s going to separate me from all the other guys you’re going to bring in. [Jon] Grudens, your whoever, whatever. Give me a break. They’re not fu – they’re not New York Jets. I’m all for the Jets. . . . And the beautiful thing is: this is the beautiful thing. Yes, you get a second chance at it and that doesn’t happen often. Well, if it does, it’s usually special. And so we’ll find out whether I get that opportunity or not. If not, I hope they have a great guy because I still want to be a Jets fan. I still want to be that, but you know, when I look around me, I know that no one is better than me. So we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.”
Before making his rather subtle and nuanced pitch to return, Ryan defended Johnson at full throttle, explaining that he gives the front office and coaching staff everything they want to win and that his involvement in football decisions is no different than that of other owners’ involvement in other teams.
“Woody Johnson was great,” Ryan said. “I can tell you from my first-hand perspective that he was fantastic. You know what he’s guilty of? He’s guilty of giving you what you want. And that’s exactly what happened to this group. He gave them exactly what they wanted. You” Are you convincing him that all you need is a quarterback? Well, he gave you a quarterback. He gave you everything you asked for.
“This guy wants to win in the worst way. That’s what I can tell you about Woody… From my perspective, he was fantastic. Fantastic… He wasn’t the one [who] I told you to go get Aaron Rodgers. You told him to go get Aaron Rodgers. And so that’s what he did. And it never worked. But at least he fired his gun. Why? Because he wants a championship.”
Rex also strongly advocated for interim GM Phil Savage to become general manager in the future.
Ryan coached the Jets for six years and led them to their most recent playoff appearances, in 2009 and 2010. They went to back-to-back AFC Championship games and haven’t been to the playoffs since.
Could they do better than Rex? Given the current state of the team and Johnson’s reputation as an owner influenced more by outside voices than sound football principles, maybe not. Could they do worse? That’s pretty much been the case in the decade since Rex was fired.
Again, it could all come back to Johnson. It may be that Rex managed Johnson better than other coaches have managed him.
Whatever the reason(s) for the team’s problems since Rex left, the reality is that Rex wants to come back. Will Woody welcome him?
