Rex Ryan certainly knows how to make Jets fans feel good.
Shortly after it was reported on Sunday that Mike Vrabel had agreed to become the Patriots' next head coach, the Jets now have one of their first and perhaps top candidates to interview for the vacant position. Although he won't be there, Ryan responded from his chair on ESPN. “NFL Countdown”
“Hey, I wish I could kick this guy's ass twice a year if I could. I don't know,” said Ryan, who interviewed for the Jets' vacancy last week. “I'm just kidding, Vlaves. I'm just kidding, buddy.”
Other analysts laughed at Ryan's blatant campaign to be rehired by the Jets. Ryan coached back-to-back AFC Championship games early in his tenure, compiling a 46-50 record (2009-2014).
Host Mike Greenberg, himself a huge Jets fan, clarified that Ryan doesn't mean his Jets will beat the Patriots, or that Ryan is challenging Vrabel to a fight. did.
“It’s my team,” Ryan said. “Not me personally.”
Ryan is picking up where he left off by badmouthing the Patriots, who are now no longer the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
Vrabel will take over a team that has finished last in the AFC East for consecutive seasons.
Long ago, Ryan entered his first season with the Jets by saying, “I didn't come here to kiss Bill Belichick's ring.”
How did he corroborate that? Ryan went 4-9 against the Patriots as head coach of the Jets, including an iconic road victory in the 2010 playoffs.
Vrabel's last season as a player with the Patriots was 2008, so he missed the banter between Ryan and the Patriots.
After being fired by the Titans after last season and serving as a consultant for the Browns in 2024, Vrabel became the seventh player to win a Super Bowl with the franchise and return as head coach.
