NFL

Jets: Rex more involved with ‘D’

IN THE TRENCHES: Jets coach Rex Ryan is taking a much larger role in defensive meetings than he did last season, according to cornerback Darrelle Revis and linebacker David Harris. (Anthony J. Causi)

Jets coach Rex Ryan has slimmed down, but his defensive players say they are seeing a lot more of him.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis and inside linebacker David Harris, appearing at Harris’ charity golf tournament yesterday, both said Ryan has been more actively involved in defensive meetings during the team’s offseason program.

Ryan has acknowledged he wants to be more hands-on this year with the defense. Revis said Ryan was not as involved in 2011 as he had been his first two years as coach.

“He did fade off a little bit,” Revis said. “I don’t know the reason for it. He’s a head coach. He has a lot on his plate. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s just something that maybe he thought he put more trust in the coaching staff and seeing that it kind of hurt us a little bit last year. Not to frown on any coaches or how they coach — it’s good to see your head coach being involved and maybe just putting his two cents in, just hearing his voice every now and then in the meeting room. I think it’s good.”

Harris, who calls most of the defensive signals, agreed with Revis.

“He’s been in our defensive meetings a little bit more so far,” Harris said. “It’s still the offseason, but in our installs the last two weeks he’s been more hands on coaching little points here and there and asking guys if they understand it, younger guys. I think it’s going to be a plus for us.”

The players spoke at the David Harris Invitational Golf Outing at Essex County Country Club in West Orange, N.J., to benefit the Give the Kids Hope Foundation, which supports underprivileged children in North Jersey.

Revis said Ryan reached out to him after last season to talk about what went wrong in 2011. The All-Pro cornerback said Ryan was unaware of some of the issues that had taken over the Jets locker room.

“Rex didn’t know some of the stuff that was going on,” Revis said. “He got wind of it at the tail end of the season. We tried to address it earlier through the players and it didn’t work. He was blind from it because he thought it was over. At the tail end, all of this other stuff started coming out. I think that’s why he’s coming around more to be involved in what is going on and what everybody is doing and just talking to guys and making sure we’re sound as a team.

“I think that’s a big thing, us being sound as a team so we can just go out there and play and not bicker and argue and do all that stuff — just go out and play.”

Revis said Ryan got mad at himself for not being more tapped into what was happening with the Jets. Revis never mentioned wide receiver Santonio Holmes by name, but is widely known now that he and quarterback Mark Sanchez had issues.

“Toward the tail end [of the season] he [Ryan] said, ‘What’s going on?’ ” Revis said. “And everybody was like, ‘Well, this is going on.’ He was like, ‘I didn’t even know.’ It’s like, ‘Well, it’s been going on for a number of weeks now.’ I don’t know how you can’t see it. It’s not him being ignorant to the situation. Sometimes you might need somebody to come shake you up.”

* The Jets signed sixth-round pick Terrance Ganaway to a four-year deal. The running back from Baylor is the third of eight Jets picks to sign.