Rex Ryan looked like a natural fit as the head coach of the New York Jets when he took the team to the AFC Championship Game in his first two seasons with the organization. Since then, it has been all downhill. The Jets are 14-18 over the past two seasons and have missed the playoffs each year. Ryan is in all likelihood on the hot seat heading into 2013.
Despite the team’s recent struggles, Rex told Newsday on Thursday that he feels the critics have been too harsh on him and his ability to coach at the NFL level.
“I’m a hell of a lot better football coach than I’m given credit for,” he said. “I don’t care. I don’t need the credit. But I can tell you one thing, when it’s said and done, they’ll look back and say, ‘Oh man, this dude can coach his butt off.’ And you know what? It’s true. And I’ll let the people that know best talk on my behalf about the kind of coach I am.”
Modesty has never really been a quality of Ryan’s. This is the same guy who can’t help but guarantee a Super Bowl victory for his team, so we aren’t really surprised to hear him toot his own horn.
“I don’t have to brag, even though statistically, I can brag about anything I’ve ever done defensively,” Ryan added.
You are bragging. Just because a person says “with all due respect” doesn’t mean they can say whatever they want to someone — unless they’re Ricky Bobby. In reality, Rex is right. His defensive resume speaks for itself, both with the Jets and when he served as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens before coming to New York. But we don’t need to hear it from him.
If Rex wants people to view him as a great head coach, he needs to win a championship. Talk is cheap, and back-to-back seasons without a postseason berth or a record above .500 are nothing to be proud of.
Helmet smack to Eye on Football
