Rex Ryan made plenty of bombastic comments this year. But, looking back on all of them, there was only one that the Jets’ coach regretted.
“Well, probably the Channing Crowder deal,” Ryan said in an interview on the NFL Network yesterday from Pro Bowl practice in Miami. “That probably got blown out a little bit . . . I was in Miami and I had my head on a swivel, you know?”
Ryan and Crowder, a linebacker for the Dolphins, engaged in a heated back-and-forth during the summer, which culminated with Ryan saying, “I’ve walked over tougher guys going to a fight than Channing Crowder. Trust me, he can send himself and his father after me. It’s fun to get with it and spar with someone else.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said that about that kid,” Ryan said yesterday. “But you know me, I like to have fun with opposing players as well, and they always take shots at me. I thought it was just a playful thing, but I think it got kinda blown out of proportion.
“But other than that, I’ve got no regrets. I’ll stand by everything.”
Ryan also was quick to dismiss the notion that his Jets, after making the AFC Championship game, will have to take a step back next season.
“You know, a lot of times you get that close, a lot of times you have to take a step back,” he said. “But our challenge to our players, and to our coaches, is for everybody to find a way to get a little bit better.”
tbontemps@nypost.com