I started this blog about a month after Rex was hired. September 4th of 2012 was the first time I mentioned firing Rex Ryan. What I said was if the 2012 season turned out to be as bad as 2011 we needed to remove Tannenbaum and Ryan and start fresh. I even warned about how bad it would be to force Rex on a new GM.
A few months later I outright called for his firing and took a long break from analyzing the Jets on this blog. I knew Ryan wasn't going anywhere and I knew nothing would change. So why post the same thing over and over? I have watched the Jets, but my passion has faded. Not because they are losing... I'm used to that after almost 30 years watching this team. But because of the old saying... if nothing changes, nothing changes. It's just boring to see the same cycle over and over for the past 6 years.
So for 28 months I have had to sit and watch a team that is ill-prepared, sloppy, lost, discombobulated, mistake prone, dumb, and most importantly... so easily satisfied (refer to week 17 last year when we missed the playoffs for the 3rd season in a row. Yup, the players gave him a Gatorade bath for that at the end of the game SMH). Everyone of those aforementioned qualities is a direct representation of their head coach. It's not the fault of the 3 different OC's, 2 different DC's, 2 different GM's, 2 different highly drafted QB's.... it's REX RYANS FAULT. Even during the 09' and 10' seasons we were a sloppy mess.
Ryan has a losing regular season record. We snuck into the playoffs his rookie year because the colts pulled their starters, year 2 we had an amazing squad and beat the Pats 2 out of 3 games including a playoff game in their house (one of the best moments in Jets history) and ever since then, 4 years in a row without a playoff birth... not even close to one. Summary, one good season out of 6... and that damn 2010 team could have won a super bowl with a complete head coach at the helm.
I mentioned that Rex would make a good drinking buddy, and I mentioned that amazing game back in January of 2011 when we beat the Pats in the playoffs and made Wes Welker cry. I am convinced that after 6 years of ineptitude Jets fans who still support Rex love him solely because of those 2 things. And that's just not good enough to keep a coach in place after failing week in and week out.
Rex is not a CEO style coach. He's a guy that wants to jump in the trenches and cheerlead for his players. A CEO has a cold heart. You wouldn't want to have a beer with most CEO's. They see the big picture, set crystal clear expectations and are never afraid to put anyone on the chopping block if they aren't getting the job done. They are 100% focused on the bottom line... and in the NFL we all know the bottom line is winning. A CEO never micro manages but instead makes sure they can keep themselves free to see the team as a whole while delegating to other proven leaders.
Rex is 2-11, his job is on the line, he's now gone 4 seasons without a playoff birth, this team is rated near the bottom in almost every conceivable statistical category on offense and defense. His message to the team? We are CLOSE..... so CLOSE. He doesn't know when to bench a player, he doesn't set expectations with severe consequences when they aren't met, he is unquestionably our full time defensive coordinator (Thurman is a joke) and he has little to nothing to do with the offense. He is more focused on being loved by his players, entertaining the NY media in press conferences, and looking like a good company man to Woody Johnson than he is on winning. Again, his eyes aren't on the bottom line like a CEO should be.
Great football coaches are loved because the players know that he is a big reason why they are winning. I don't remember Seattle Seahawks players lining up to say how much they loved and respected Pete Caroll until they started winning two years ago. Mike McCarthy and Belichick look like two of the biggest douches in history, but their players love them. Not because they tell great jokes in meetings, not because they never criticize them publicly, not because the are so loyal they won't bench them until they have the worst QB rating in the league and the season is lost at 1-6.
Their players love them because they are all about winning. If you are cut or benched you know why... you weren't helping them win. Can you imagine Tomlin or John Harbaugh making jokes during press conferences at 2-11 and saying that who starts at QB is a "team" decision??? If you are making the final call and hiding behind the front office you're spineless... if you are the HC of an NFL team and you are not allowed to pick your starters each week, you should yell it from the roof tops and then quit. Deflecting blame is what Ryan and our whole front office has been about for 2 years now.
Rex was quoted this past week saying that we have 2 good QB's on our roster and it's a hard choice picking a starter each week. Seriously??? Vick and Smith have been complete disasters. Why would you keep praising them? What do you gain from this?
To wrap this up I will mention what I saw on the practice field during Rex's run as the HC.
I first attended a Rex Ryan practice in the 2010 preseason (this was the Hard Knocks year when the guys were eating burgers while running plays in practice... on camera). What I saw was really odd to me. I saw players jogging around casually, Rex making the rounds chatting with players telling jokes making them laugh, dropped passes everywhere, it was a late start of coarse, and I couldn't believe this was for real. After seeing that practice I said I thought we wouldn't even make the playoffs. I can't imagine what could have been that year if we would have had some discipline and focus.
Every practice I have attended since them have been exactly the same. Every game I've watched, win or lose, I see:
- the same dumb penalties,
- guys looking lost pre-snap,
- 12 men on the field,
- blown coverages,
- careless turnovers,
- horrendous in-game coaching decisions and adjustments,
- struggling players left out on the field getting beat, play after play after play
That's your legacy Rex, a lot of talk and below average results. His players never seem to get better and he hasn't learned a thing in 6 years. Good bye and good riddens!
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