Rex Ryan said nothing, not even the Giants’ Super Bowl championship, can get his Jets more motivated than they already are.
In his first public appearance since the Giants took home Super Bowl XLVI, the Jets coach was a guest at yesterday’s Long Island Association meeting and luncheon. The Jets season ended in playoff-less failure while the Giants and rival Patriots went on to the Super Bowl, but Ryan said that does not add extra fuel.
“To be more motivated as an organization because this team won or that team won, no, absolutely not,” Ryan said. “You can’t be more motivated than we are.”
Ryan’s Jets went 8-8, suffering a season-ending combustion by dropping their final three games and having the locker room devolve into chaos.
Ryan and owner Woody Johnson have dined together within the past two weeks, and Ryan classified it as “a great meeting.”
“We’ve identified things that we think we have to get better at as an organization, and we’re excited about moving forward,” he said. “We’re learning from what happened this past season, and hey, we’ve got some scars from it. There’s no question. But I respect that. And if you learn from it, then you can get better from it. I think that’s what we’re going to do.”
During the luncheon, Ryan was joined by Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason answering a moderator’s questions. Ryan remains steadfast in his belief his team will make it to the White House for a championship celebration.
He’s hardly predicting a Super Bowl for the Jets this season, but he also said he believes he’s not far from a second ring to pair with the jewelry he picked up as a coach on the Super Bowl champion Ravens in 2001.
“I plan on getting another [ring], and I plan on getting it quickly,” he said.
Ryan deflected questions about the possibility of the Jets pursuing Peyton Manning, the Colts quarterback who could become a free agent in the coming weeks.
“Mark [Sanchez] is our starting quarterback,” Ryan said, mentioning the three-year veteran’s potential and past triumphs and his belief Sanchez “is ascending.”
But when asked about Manning, Ryan did not dismiss it completely.
“I’ve paid enough fines this year,” he said in reference to the NFL’s tampering rules. “I’ve got to keep my money.”