“I think Rex Ryan is perfect for the New York Jets.” — Jets owner Woody Johnson on Jan. 8, 2013
You might remember this press conference. Woody Johnson and Rex Ryan seated next to each other. Johnson professing his belief in Ryan as a coach and saying whomever he hired as general manager had to keep Ryan as the coach.
It was the beginning of the drama that has played out over this calendar year. Is Ryan coaching for his job? Will new general manager John Idzik want his own guy after one year no matter what? Is it playoffs or bust for Ryan?
We will get the answers Monday. The drama ends (well, this drama) along with the Jets season. We find out whether Ryan has won over his new boss enough to stick around.
If the decision is to fire Ryan, Johnson has a lot of explaining to do. Starting with his decision last year to fire GM Mike Tannenbaum and retain Ryan. Splitting the two did not make much sense at the time and will look even dumber if Ryan is fired. The only explanation could be Johnson did not want to pay Ryan the $6 million remaining on his contract to not coach the Jets.
By firing Tannenbaum, Johnson showed he was ready for the organization to take a new course … except he wanted Ryan along for the ride. So the Jets hired Idzik, stripped down their roster, drafted a new quarterback and turned the page on the old “Hard Knocks” Jets except for the guy calling the shots on the sideline.
It would have been wiser for Johnson to either get rid of both Tannenbaum and Ryan at the end of last season or give both of them one more year to turn things around. Instead, the franchise felt as if it was in a suspended state in 2013. Moving forward in some areas, but still stuck in neutral until Ryan’s future was decided.
Here is what Johnson said back in January when asked if he ever considered firing Ryan:
“No, I never considered that because my confidence in him as a coach, obviously gives me the confidence to keep him as a coach. Having been in business and in football for quite a while now, you can recognize talent when you see it. I hate to [make] excuses, but there are some extenuating circumstances that I think we can improve and get better. I think Rex Ryan is perfect for the New York Jets. He’s just like a New York Jets fan in many respects. He’s hardworking, he’s very smart [and] sophisticated, he’s 100 percent into this team, 100 percent. There’s nobody that’s more committed to this team and [who] has the skills to bring it forward than Rex. So, I don’t know how to say it any other way, but I’m totally happy with Rex as head coach and I think when we make these changes that we’re talking about today and refocus ourselves, I think it’s going to produce something really good.”
If there is a “Black Monday” press conference to announce Ryan’s firing, the first question for Johnson should be, “So Woody, what changed?”
Because all we’ve seen in the 11 months since he said those words was Ryan accept orders from Idzik to tone things down, put his head down and go to work. He ground seven wins out of a four-win roster, built a young defensive line than can be a strength for years and have every player on the roster ready to run through a wall for him.
Those “extenuating circumstances” Johnson referred to have to be the lack of talent the team had in 2012. Tannenbaum took the blame for that and was shown the door. Guess what? The talent in 2013 was no better.
If Ryan gets fired, it’s clear there was nothing he could have done to save his job short of a miraculous playoff run. Idzik has the right to bring in his own guy. But it should have happened 11 months ago, if that is what he wanted. Instead, Johnson kept the Jets franchise in this suspended state for 2013: Will Rex stay or go?
Eleven months ago, Johnson said Ryan was the perfect guy for the Jets. We’ll see if he still feels that way Monday.