It appears one man is already stepping in to become the Jets' next head coach.
Rex Ryan, an ESPN analyst and former Jets and Bills coach, campaigned hard to be considered for the position during an appearance on ESPN New York's “Burt & Hahn.” It seems so.
Ryan opposed blowing up the Jets' roster when he began to argue that the team's current talent pool could lead to wins.
“When you look at it like this, are we going to blow up? We're going to blow them away,” Ryan told host Alan Hearn and Bart Scott, who played for Ryan when he was with the Jets. “There's too much talent on this team to play like this. How hard can you make guys play? That's the question. Believe me, this team is going to be this good in the future. No one has ever seen a team that plays that hard. Trust me, if I'm that guy.”
Ryan served as the Jets' head coach during one of the franchise's more successful periods in recent memory, but the atmosphere quickly changed.
While Ryan played from 2009 to 2014, the Jets went 46-50 and appeared in back-to-back AFC Championship Games in his first two seasons.
But that success quickly faded, with two of the past three seasons resulting in losing records.
Ryan insisted in a radio appearance Thursday that there is no other candidate who could embrace the Jets' culture.
“That's going to separate me from the other guys you bring in, whether it's your Gruden guys or whoever. Give me a break,” he continued. “They're not the New York Jets. I love the Jets. And the great thing is, yes, there are second chances, but they don't happen very often. Well, when they happen, It's usually special. Do I have that chance? We'll see. If not, I still want to be a Jets fan, so I hope they put some great players around. I look around and see that there is no one better than me.”
Ryan suggested on another ESPN New York show earlier this week that the Jets would be in a better position if he were at the helm.
The former NFL coach said on Monday's “DiPietro & Rothenberg” that if he had done the job, his team “would probably be undefeated.”
His response came after he was asked what he thought would happen to the team if he were still coaching.
The Jets started the year with Super Bowl aspirations, but the season is nearly over and they are 3-8 heading into the bye week.
