Rex Ryan, the former head coach of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, has shown no hesitation about his desire to return to coaching, as you may have heard or seen on Get Up. He has frequently hinted at his next presumed coaching position, including on television, having discussed joining the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos as a defensive coordinator in previous years.
Ryan even claimed that although he might have accepted the DC position in Dallas, Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys never “ponied up.” However, Ryan Clark’s The Pivot podcast, which coincidentally debuted the day after he publicly advocated for the Jets coaching position on ESPN’s airwaves, made the observation that Ryan seemed to still have unresolved issues on the NFL sidelines.
Woody Johnson considered Ryan to be one of his own, if you knew the history there. He swiftly led the Jets to consecutive AFC Championship Games, but he was never able to rekindle that enchantment. The Jets (and Ryan) never bounced back from their Christmas Day loss to the Giants and their disproportionate impact from the 2011 lockout, as described in Nicholas Dawidoff’s “Collision Low Crossers.”
Johnson chose to retain Ryan and fire Mike Tanenbaum, replacing him with John Idizk, a potential seventh general managerial pick. It goes without saying that the arranged marriage failed, and after the 2014 NFL season, neither of them had a job.
However, it appears that Johnson has only gotten along with Ryan as a head coach. After Ryan was fired, he brought on Todd Bowles, and it appears that he had nothing to do with the hiring of Adam Gase and Robert Saleh because his brother, Christopher, took over ownership of the team while he was the US ambassador to the UK.
Returning to Rex: He spoke passionately about his former club on Monday’s Get Up, clearly heated up. As he exhorted the Jets coaches and players to regain their pride, you could sense how passionate he was.
“You can hire me as a coach. Why? He stated, “Because I’m going to establish that culture; that team is more significant than the fucking individual.” “Everyone benefits when the team wins. The name on the front of the fucking shirt is more important than the name on the back.
“Take pride in being a New York Jet. I don’t see it at the moment. “I’m proud to be Aaron Rodgers,” “I’m proud to be this guy,” and “I’m proud to be that guy,” are all things I see. What about taking pride in being a New York Jet? Where is the enthusiasm? And as a damn head coach, I believe that begins at the top.
Jeff Ulbrich, a youngster I know, is placed in there; he’s far higher than him. I understand. And is being a head coach and a d-coordinator really that difficult? You’re absolutely correct.
This enthusiasm comes from someone who still has the desire to coach in the National Football League. However, no one has picked up the phone to call Ryan since the Bills fired him. He hasn’t received a call regarding a head coaching position in the eight years since he left the NFL.
He told Pivot co-host Channing Crowder, “Nobody called.” “I never received a one fucking call. Not a single interview, not a single opportunity to be a head coach. In addition, I approached Dallas this season as a defensive coordinator because I reasoned that, “Hell, this team is loaded,” and that perhaps this would be my chance to demonstrate that, “Yeah, I am the best that has ever done it.”