Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez says he once nearly unleashed some unnecessary roughness — on coach Rex Ryan.
When Ryan came close to benching the matinee idol last year, Sanchez said he wanted to take a swing at the popular, outspoken sideline commander.
“I wanted to fight him. I was really mad,” Sanchez said in a revealing chat with GQ magazine.
Sanchez had been performing poorly, racking up consecutive, embarrassing defeats to the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, prompting Ryan to openly speculate about benching him.
Ryan then ordered backup QB Mark Brunell to start practicing more with the team’s other starters — another sign he was considering sidelining Sanchez — and Sanchez said he flipped.
But he never actually tried to turn Gang Green’s coach black and blue, thanks to the cooler head of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, he said.
At one point, when Schottenheimer reminded Sanchez of Ryan’s order to have Brunell handle more first-string plays, “I was like, ‘[Ryan] can come tell me [himself],’ ” Sanchez recalled. “And [Schottenheimer] is like, ‘Come on, man, don’t do that,’ ” the QB said.
Despite his unhappiness with Ryan for nearly benching him, Sanchez still has grudging respect for his loudmouth boss.
“Rex is super-honest,” he said. “I wish he wasn’t that honest at times.”
As one of New York’s most eligible bachelors, Sanchez added that he knows he has to set boundaries for himself off the field.
He acknowledged he could, but shouldn’t, party like a rock star every night.
“You have to be a 24-year-old bachelor with the means to do anything, just about, but with the wherewithal and understanding and life skills of a 45-year-old Supreme Court judge,” he said.
When Sanchez isn’t making sweet music with a pretty young woman, the Jets QB is probably enjoying a good show tune.
GQ couldn’t help but notice that Sanchez’s DVR of recorded TV shows included episodes of “Glee” and a documentary about Justin Bieber.
Sanchez sang the praises of Broadway performers, saying they’re not too different from NFL gladiators.
“Their life is so regimented — like mine,” he said. “They have eight shows a week. They have to take care of their bodies, stretch, eat right, take care of their voices. You know, their voice is like my arm.”