Mark Cannizzaro

Mark Cannizzaro

NFL

Jets GM Idzik silent about Rex’s future

The press conference lasted 23 minutes and there was going to be no definitive answer coming from Jets general manager John Idzik about the future of his head coach Rex Ryan — not even if the session had lasted 223 minutes.

That is not how Idzik operates. He plods at his own pace. Monday’s bye week state-of-the-team address was, after all, only the third time he has spoken to the media since the beginning of September.

While being probed for the slightest a hint about whether Ryan will remain with the team beyond this year, Idzik referenced “living in the moment’’ (or a phrase close to it) almost as many times as his rookie quarterback Geno Smith has thrown interceptions this season.

Ryan’s status has been a hot topic since he was retained by owner Woody Johnson after last season’s 6-10 mess that got general manager Mike Tannenbaum fired and Idzik hired — on the condition Idzik keep Ryan for at least the 2013 season.

Idzik’s arrival, along with the owner’s Ryan stipulation, led to immediate speculation the new general manager will want to bring in his own guy to coach the team as soon as Johnson gives him the green light. So, too, did the fact the bombastic Ryan and buttoned-down Idzik appeared on the surface to be an odd couple destined for a quick divorce.

But some funny things have happened en route to Idzik’s path to bringing in his own guy after this season: Having the Jets at 5-4 with signature wins over the Patriots and Saints and with a soft second-half schedule ahead, only Andy Reid with his 9-0 Chiefs is standing in the way of Ryan being the front-runner as the NFL’s Coach of the Year.

So, barring a Jets collapse in the final seven games, during which they play teams with a cumulative current record of 22-32, whether he likes it or not — and it appears he might be just fine with it — Idzik and Ryan will remain together for the foreseeable future.

And that’s the way it should be.

Ryan, whose contract runs out after next season, deserves an extension, and Johnson would not be out of line giving it to him right now if he chose to.

“Let things transpire and play out,’’ Idzik said. “We’re living in the moment. We’ve been through a lot in a little time. A lot has transpired in nine weeks.’’

Idzik went on to rattle off the three new coordinators on Ryan’s coaching staff, including an almost entirely new offensive staff, and a revolving door of personnel coming in during the middle of the season and producing for the team.

Idzik called it a “tribute to Rex’’ for making it all work amid the chaos, saying, “Rex has pulled it all together. He’s our leader.’’

But for how long? The next seven games? Long-term?

Idzik, of course, would not relent, though he did say, “It’s been a joy to work with Rex.’’

Ryan has taken a team with a talented but inconsistent rookie quarterback living out his growing pains on Sundays, meshed him with a new offensive coordinator (Marty Mornhinweg) and limited skill position talent, and gotten a team that was predicted to win four or five games all season to overachieve at 5-4.

If the regular season ended today, the Jets would be a wild-card playoff team — something that seemed as likely as Santonio Holmes offering to give some of his salary back for missing so many games the last two seasons.

Along the way, Ryan has made Idzik look like a genius, taking the new players the GM signed during the course of the season (See: receivers David Nelson, Greg Salas; tight end Zach Sudfeld) and turning them into key contributors.

When these positive assessments of his work were presented to him on Monday, Ryan cringed, retreating into his new “Humble Rex’’ persona that has transformed since working for the conservative Idzik.

“Our job is incomplete,’’ Ryan said. “We have seven games left in the regular season. I’m not looking down the road; I’m looking at what’s in front of me. To think about anything else at this time, that’s not appropriate.’’

Ryan’s words were right out of the Idzik playbook.

“We live in the moment, we play in the moment and we practice in the moment,’’ Idzik said. “If you have a feeling of contentment and complacency, you’re at risk.’’

Maybe he thinks it’s a risk so give Ryan an extension now. But it is inevitable.