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Woody Johnson walked into Rex Ryan’s office early in the morning on Dec. 31. A day earlier, the Jets finished a 6-10 season, the worst of Ryan’s four years as head coach. Now, Johnson was coming to tell Ryan whether he would be back for a fifth season.
Johnson told Ryan that general manager Mike Tannenbaum was out but that he was sticking with Ryan. In an instant, Ryan began focusing on 2013.
“When I understood I was back and changes were being made, I was like, ‘OK, I know exactly what I’m going to do.’” Ryan said in his office last month.
The 50-year-old coach immediately decided to scrap his 2012 strategy of being more involved with the offense. With new coordinators on both offense and defense, Ryan committed to returning to his defensive roots and finding someone who could run the offense the way he wanted.
Seven months later, Ryan leads the Jets into training camp this week with Marty Mornhinweg in charge of the offense and Ryan back calling the defense. It’s the latest chapter in Ryan’s struggle to figure out how to handle the offensive side of the ball.
“It’s been kind of inconsistent,” Ryan said of his team’s offenses. “We’ve had some positive moments. It just hasn’t been from top to bottom.”
Mornhinweg is the third offensive coordinator under Ryan. Brian Schottenheimer was shown the door after the 2011 season, and Tony Sparano lasted just one disappointing season.
Under Ryan, the Jets have finished no higher than 11th (2010) in total offense and bottomed out at 30th last year.
Things looked good at first. The Jets best single-game offensive performance under Ryan came in his first game when they totaled 462 yards against the Texans in 2009. Ryan embraced “ground and pound” that first year, and the Jets had the best running game in football. In 2010, they opened things up more with receivers Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes and had Ryan’s most balanced offense. In 2011, a pass-heavy attack did not work, then last year the offense was abysmal for most of the season.
“Last year, there were a lot of factors,” Ryan said. “Guys tried hard. It just never worked.”
The failed Tim Tebow experiment drew the spotlight, but the offense sputtered with injuries to wide receiver and a regressing Mark Sanchez at quarterback.
After offensive chemistry problems surprised Ryan in 2011, he threw himself into the offense last year, attending meetings and trying to become more of a complete head coach. In hindsight, he views that as a mistake.
“I was searching,” he said. “I was trying to be the head coach and to move back and do all the things you’re supposed to do to create a pipeline [from your players]. But it never worked for me. It might work for other people, but to me, I need to be more involved in the defense. I need to take a stronger role in the defense, not just be part of the game plans but even stronger than that. I think that’s good for our team.”
Ryan also felt a need to return to the way he needed to “start over.” When he said that at a January press conference, some viewed it as him asking for a do over. But Ryan meant returning to the way he did things in 2009 when he first arrived.
“When I came here, it was, ‘I’m going to impose my will on this league.’ Somewhere along the line, I tried to be like everybody else,” Ryan said. “To me, that ain’t me. It just doesn’t work. It might work for 99 percent of the population, but for me I don’t think that works for me. I’ll be danged if I’m not going to do it this way. I have this opportunity and I’m going to take it.”
Ryan promoted Dennis Thurman to defensive coordinator in January to replace Mike Pettine, but Ryan is more hands-on with the defense this year than he has been since his first season as head coach. He will call the defenses this fall and he installed all of them this spring.
“ I think he was trying to be a head coach and let coach Pettine have the reins of being the defensive coordinator,” cornerback Antonio Cromartie said. “He trusted in Pettine to do the things that we’ve been doing. I think that’s what Rex got away from. He understands he’s the head coach, but this is his defense. This is his baby. Take care of it. Only you know your child better than anybody else. I think that’s what he’s getting back to, nursing his baby.”
During the spring practices, Mornhinweg ran the offense with little interruption or input from Ryan. But Ryan wants to make it known he does understand what the offense is doing, and he has instructed Mornhinweg he wants an aggressive, attacking scheme.
But Ryan said he believes the team is better with him in the defensive meeting room.
“There’s a certain level of confidence when you have the pelts,” he said. “You can say what you want about me, but I have had some pelts on defense throughout my career. … I also want to make sure on offense that, ‘Hey, you’re not the red-headed stepchild. No, you’re my offense, too. This is what I expect.’ ”
Sanchez said Ryan will talk to the offense during walkthroughs or during some periods of practice and try to give them a defensive perspective on what they’re doing, but Sanchez knows Ryan is a defensive guy.
“I think the tie always goes to the defense,” Sanchez said. “That’s the way it’s always been. That’s pretty natural for having a defensive head coach. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
This year’s offense has as many questions as any of Ryan’s previous teams. There is uncertainty at nearly every position. Sanchez and Geno Smith are locked in a quarterback competition. Santonio Holmes is coming off two foot surgeries. There are new starters at tight end and both guard spots.
Many people view this as Ryan’s last stand as Jets head coach. His contract is up after the 2014 season, but it would be unusual for the Jets to let him enter the final year of his contract. Ryan has heard the talk of him being a lame duck and this Jets team having no chance. It drives him.
“I do have a chip on my shoulder,” Ryan said. “The lame duck deal? That doesn’t concern me because it’s never been about me. When I say a chip on my shoulder, I mean for all of us. The entire organization has a chip because that wasn’t up to our standards last year. We can’t wait. We have a burning desire, not just me but this football team, to get back on the field.”
brian.costello@nypost.com