In Rex Ryan’s mind, there is no question who the Jets head coach should be in 2014.
Here’s a hint: He likes tattoos, defense and lost more than 100 pounds over the past two years.
Others might be wondering if Ryan is the right man for the job — maybe even Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager John Idzik — but Ryan has no such doubt.
“Of course I believe it. Of course, no question I believe it,” Ryan said during a press conference Monday. “There’s no doubt, but again, I’d rather get out of this press conference and go to work. That’s how I feel about this.”
Ryan is 44-38, including the playoffs, in his five seasons as Jets head coach. But he is 12-21 dating back to December 2011. The Jets lost 30-20 to the Panthers on Sunday, dropping their record to 6-8. This is the first time since 1994-96 the Jets will have three consecutive non-winning seasons. The Jets’ outside shot at making the playoffs disappeared Monday night when Ryan’s former team, the Ravens, beat the Lions, 18-16, on Justin Tucker’s 61-yard field goal.
Despite missing the playoffs for the third straight year, Ryan thinks he deserves to keep his job.
“I’m a competent guy even though I know that will be questioned a zillion times forward and backward. Whatever, that’s fine,” Ryan said. “But I know I’m a good football coach. I believe in this team. I believe in this organization and I’m determined to bring a winner to this team. There’s no question about it. I know and I believe I’m the right guy for it. Now again, I’m not the guy making that decision.”
Ryan has one year remaining on his contract. NFL coaches rarely go into a season with just one year left on their contracts so it is expected Ryan will either be fired or given a contract extension after the season.
Ryan led the Jets to consecutive AFC Championship games in his first two seasons on the job, but the Jets have not made it back to the playoffs since. Despite the poor record, Ryan feels the Jets are on the track to get to the Super Bowl.
“I guess I kind of disagree with you. I think this team is on the right path,” Ryan said. “It might not be reflected in our record right now. I understand that. I believe this team is going in the right direction.”
Guard Willie Colon voiced his support for Ryan.
“I’ll stand on a soapbox and say it. Rex is my coach,” Colon said. “He’s one of the main reasons I came here. I love the guy to death. I love his passion, I love his heart. I think if he doesn’t come back it will be a step back for us as a team.”
Rookie quarterback Geno Smith said the Jets do not feel like they are playing to save Ryan’s job.
“We don’t,” Smith said. “We’re going out there and playing for Rex because he’s our head coach and we want to play hard for him and we want to win games for him. He coaches us hard, he puts the time and effort in and he deserves for our team to go out and that’s what we do every single week.”
Ryan is trying to get his team focused on the Browns this week and not worry about his job status.
“This is about we need to get a win and all that other stuff will take care of itself down the road,” Ryan said. “ … We have two more opportunities and we’re going to do everything in our power to play as well as we can possibly play. That’s what we focus on.”