Rex Ryan as head coach isn't the answer for what ails the Jets
Jets head coach Rex Ryan against the Houston Texans on November 21, 2010. Credit: GETTY IMAGES/Jim McIsaac
FLORHAM PARK, N.J.
Thirty miles east of here, the Giants announced on Monday that general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll will be back for 2025-26.
Agree with it or not, it was a bold nod to the value of stability.
The Jets do not have any of that now, with an unpredictable owner in Woody Johnson, a future Hall of Fame quarterback in limbo in Aaron Rodgers and no official general manager or head coach.
That reality hit home after the Jets cleared out their lockers following a 5-12 dud of a season.
The best they could do, coach-wise, was to trot out their interim, Jeff Ulbrich, who spoke eloquently to reporters for 11 minutes but has not yet been scheduled to interview to retain the job.
Ulbrich does expect to be interviewed at some point, which is only fair, but he will be one of many in a process that seems to be leaving no stone unturned.
Maybe The 33rd Team, which has deployed Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman to lead the search, gets paid by the hour, or by the interview.
Former Panthers and Commanders coach Ron Rivera and former Titans coach Mike Vrabel — now presumed to be headed to New England — already have had their meetings.
And the list grows daily of candidates the Jets have asked for permission to speak to, intriguingly including Lions defensive coordinator and former Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn, according to the NFL Network.
But next up is Tuesday’s featured guest, who figures to provide one of the most interesting chats of all.
That would be former Jets coach Rex Ryan, who has been publicly lobbying for the job in his role as an ESPN analyst.
He said on ESPN New York Radio on Monday that he expects to land the gig.
“Oh, 100%, absolutely I do,” he said. “And the reason I think I’m going to get it is because I’m the best guy — and it ain’t close.”
Ryan coached the Jets for six seasons from 2009-14, went 46-50 and reached the AFC Championship Game twice. He then went 15-16 in two seasons with the Bills.
Would Johnson really make that move? Journalists would love it, given Ryan’s bombast and endless quotability. But he represents the opposite of stability.
And let’s be real here: Ryan has not had a winning season in the NFL since 2010.
Ryan on Monday blasted Rodgers for skipping last spring’s mandatory minicamp and former coach Robert Saleh for allowing it.
“If he comes back, things would be different,” Ryan said on ESPN Radio. “If he’s back, it ain’t gonna be the country club, show up whenever the hell you want to show up. That ain’t gonna happen.”
Again, that kind of stuff is great for media content, but this franchise just went through two seasons of the Rodgers Circus. Does Johnson really want to trade one ringmaster for another?
Ideally, the Jets’ next coach should have NFL head-coaching experience, given the unique challenges of the job and the market.
But that should not be a prerequisite. Glenn is going to be a hot candidate this cycle. He could be the right man at the right time for a franchise that could use a different Aaron defining its culture.
Several Jets were asked on Monday what the team needs in its next head coach.
“Just somebody that’s a leader,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “Somebody that doesn’t lack confidence because, when you’re leading a group of men, they’re watching everything that that coach does. So just being confident in everything that he does. Coming in there ready to win.
“We can’t come here with this mindset of let’s just win a few games. Let’s just win more games than last year. You’ve got to come in here with a mentality and mindset that we’re going to win it all, go to the playoffs, go to the Super Bowl. That’s just what it’s got to be.”
Said receiver Davante Adams, “You can win games, but to be able to establish a winning culture is the important thing. You need guys to buy in. You need a coach obviously that’s able to come in here and win over the players and be somebody that holds everybody accountable.”
C.J. Mosley said, “A coach that has the leadership, a coach that’s established, also a coach that pretty much demands a certain way of football.
“You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to be best friends. But respect the way that he’s going to work and just know and believe that if you believe in that system and do it the right way as much as possible, at some point it’s going to work.”
That “some point” never seems to come into view for a team that last reached the playoffs under Ryan in 2010. But that does not make Ryan the right choice to get the Jets back there in 2025-26.
The Jets need to fold up the circus tent and get down to serious business.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.