Schottenheimer still happy to be with Jets
Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer announced that he won't return for a seventh season. (Jan. 5, 2011) Credit: Joe Epstein
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Brian Schottenheimer hasn't been in demand the way he was this time a year ago, when the Bills had him on their radar for their head- coaching vacancy but he turned them down.
Rex Ryan thinks it's a shame no one has come calling for his offensive coordinator's potential services, and he believes Schottenheimer's days with the Jets won't extend beyond next season.
"To be honest, I was sad he never got the opportunity to be a head coach this year and I'm actually shocked," Ryan said Thursday, "because this guy is going to be a star in this league without question. Five percent of me was sad, but 95 percent of me was happy as heck because we get to have him another year."
Schottenheimer said he's not looking at the 2011 campaign as possibly being his last with the Jets, but he acknowledged he does have head-coaching aspirations.
"I think everything happens for a reason," he said. "This year, I never got caught in it because we were so busy. I know three weeks before, everybody was talking about firing me after the Dolphins game. So that puts you into an even keel, if you will. But I hope it happens at some point . . . But like I said last year and earlier this year, I'm really happy here and I think we've got something pretty amazing going on."
Classy, not trashy
The trash talk between the Jets and Patriots prompted the NFL to send out a memo last week to the eight remaining teams, telling them to tone down the rhetoric. So is that why the Jets have clammed up this week?
"Rex never said anything about it," wideout Braylon Edwards said of the league memo. "I'm pretty sure if it came down from the league, he would have told us something so we wouldn't make him look bad."
Rex: No excuses
The early forecast for Sunday's game at Heinz Field is calling for a temperature of about 8 degrees by kickoff, but that doesn't concern Ryan in the least.
"Both teams are built as all-weather- type teams, so there's no excuses whatsoever," he said. "We are excited. If it was zero or minus-10, we'll still be there with a smile on our face and ready to go."
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