Rex Ryan is a players’ coach above all else. There is a reason guys love playing for him, but can developing too much of a friendship with your players lead to a lack of respect? New York Jets tight end Jace Amaro indicated as much earlier this week.
During an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday, Amaro spoke about how new Jets head coach Todd Bowles is changing the culture around the team’s facility. More specifically, Amaro said guys can’t get away with being late for workouts like they did under Ryan.
“He’s not really playing around with everybody being late. We had an issue with that last year,” Amaro said, as transcribed by Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday. “I think guys just weren’t accountable last year as much they could be. And I think that’s the biggest thing.
“He’s making sure that everyone’s going to be 100 percent in or you’re not going to be on the team, so that’s really going to filter out toward the guys. He just wants to win.”
Both Bowles and Ryan are defensive-minded coaches who love to be aggressive with their play-calling, but you’re not going to see Bowles joking at the podium and poking fun at Bill Belichick. From a personality standpoint, they are a lot different.
While we don’t know how many instances of tardiness there were in New York under Ryan, we do remember a certain player missing a team meeting because of confusion over time zones.
Back in December, Ryan took exception to the notion that his players lack discipline.
“A players’ coach, to me, is somebody that cares about his players, someone that tries to give our guys an opportunity to be successful,” he told Newsday at the time. “… My team is disciplined. It’s not shown making a public spectacle out of somebody. That’s not my style. I’ll never do that. But will discipline be in place if I think a fine is appropriate? Absolutely. It just might not have that outward appearance because I don’t bench somebody.”
There are times when the media blows things out of proportion, but Ryan can’t blame only reporters for implying that he is not harsh on his players. Amaro just provided us with a view from the inside.
H/T NFL.com
