One of the most resounding messages out of the Jets locker room yesterday came from one of their most reserved, soft-spoken players.
“I think the NFL is very aware of the New York Jets right now,” receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. “We’re starting to build something special around here. We played the way we talked about playing in the beginning of the offseason when Rex [Ryan] first got here. We’ll continue to do that.”
Cotchery made a plea for the Jets to keep 31-year-old running back Thomas Jones, who appeared to slow late in the year despite having a terrific 1,402-yard rushing season with 14 touchdowns.
With the emergence of rookie Shonn Greene, speculation about Jones’ future has already begun.
“I really don’t want to think about T.J. not being here,” Cotchery said. “I’m hoping we can keep him around. He’s the true definition of a leader, my favorite teammate of all time. I hope we can keep him around and hope we can make a run at it next year.”
The first casualties from a finished season took place for the Jets yesterday when Ryan let go five members of his coaching staff for various reasons.
The assistants who won’t be back include defensive backs assistant Doug Plank, for whom the famous 46 Defense was named by former Bears assistant Buddy Ryan (Rex’s father), special teams assistant Kevin O’Dea, assistant quarterbacks coach John DiFilippo, quality control coach Brian Smith and Chuck Smith, who was working with the pass rushers.
The contracts of all five, according to Ryan, had expired. O’Dea was expendable because Mike Westhoff is the special teams coordinator and has Ben Kotwica assisting him already. Plank was helping out defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman.
Ryan, who’s close with his coaching staff, is leaving for the Senior Bowl today to do some scouting and, while there, he’ll also attempt to help those coaches find new jobs.
DE Shaun Ellis was added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster as a replacement for Colts DE Robert Mathis, who can’t play because his team is in the Super Bowl. The Jets will have five players — CB Darrelle Revis, C Nick Mangold, LG Alan Faneca, LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Ellis — in the Pro Bowl, which will be played Sunday night.
Ryan said one of the goals he reached was molding his team after himself.
“Going into the season I told our players I wanted to be a team that nobody wanted to play, and I think we’re there,” Ryan said. “We play a physical brand of football that I don’t think people want to play against.
“From e-mails and calls I’ve gotten from opposing coaches and guys that I really respect in this game, I think we have accomplished that mission.”
Ryan finally showed up at a press conference wearing something other than that blue New York Titans sweatshirt with a pizza grease stain on the gut. He’d been wearing that during the Jets’ four-game winning streak in an act of superstition.
“Threw it away; that wasn’t the answer,” Ryan joked.
⇒ Here’s a list of the Jets’ free agents in 2010: RB Leon Washington, WR Braylon Edwards, QB Kellen Clemens and WR Brad Smith all will be restricted free agents unless a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is struck, which seems unlikely. The unrestricted free agents include K Jay Feely, FB Tony Richardson, long snapper James Dearth, TE Ben Hartsock, S Eric Smith, CB Drew Coleman, DT Howard Green. DT Mike DeVito, OL Robert Turner and WR David Clowney are all restricted free agents.