Rex ryan fired, After his team’s 24-13 win over Cleveland, Jets coach Rex Ryan walked a victory lap around the MetLife Stadium field. Slapping hands with adoring fans while an entourage of players flanked him, he looked like a politician stumping for re-election.
That is essentially what Ryan is now, and Sunday became his three-hour pitch about why he should keep his job for another year. His players, though already eliminated from the playoffs, supported him by rebounding from a 10-0 deficit to show they were still motivated to play for their bombastic, charismatic coach.
“We love playing for him; we love having him,” said offensive lineman Austin Howard. “Rex’s mentality resonates through this entire team.”
After leading the Jets to conference-title games in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Ryan hasn’t taken his team back since. Most coaches get fired after three straight playoff-less years; owner Woody Johnson and first-year general manager John Idzik haven’t hinted as to whether the same fate awaits Ryan.
Many of the players, though, have made up their mind. They want Ryan to stay.
“I definitely want Rex back,” said cornerback Antonio Cromartie. “I think he’s the man for the job. Speaking volumes of what kind of coach he is, I think every player in this locker room and every player that has been on this team would go to bat for him.”
Ryan declined to address a Fox Sports report, which said he told his players in a team meeting Saturday that “word on street is that he’s getting fired” and that he asked his players to “fight” with him. The coach said what is said in team meetings is private, and several players said the coach never said anything like that.
Linebacker Calvin Pace, who got his 10th sack Sunday, said that Ryan has done a remarkable job just coaching the Jets to their 7-8 record, given that many analysts picked them to be the one of the league’s worst teams.
As he has done all season, Ryan declined to comment about whether he thinks he deserves to remain on.
“My job is to focus on the present and what’s right now,” Ryan said. “The immediate thing is—guess what?—we’re going to enjoy this one.”
The coach did say earlier this week that he felt his team was “on the right path.” That seemed hard to believe before Sunday, when the Jets blundered their way to four losses in five games and dropped out of playoff contention.
But on Sunday, the team supported his statement with perhaps its best performance of the season. (Against Cleveland, granted.) Rookie Geno Smith completed 20 of his 36 pass attempts for 214 yards and two touchdowns, both to receiver David Nelson, while also running for another score. Running back Chris Ivory ran for 109 yards.
The Jets committed no turnovers, while defensive backs Dee Milliner, panned all year for his rookie inexperience, and Ed Reed, belittled for being too slow and old, each had an interception.
“I told you that this team is on the climb,” Ryan said.
The Jets on Sunday showed early signs of sass against the hapless Browns, who fell to 4-11. On their opening possession, the Jets faked a punt at their own 43-yard line. The snap went to blocker Josh Bush, who tried to pass to a wide-open Isaiah Trufant. But the throw from Bush, a backup safety, bounced well short of the target. The Browns would then score on Billy Cundiff’s 27-yard field goal.
It wasn’t until the Jets were down 10-0 that they got going. Smith found Nelson over the middle for a six-yard touchdown pass. After Cleveland went three-and-out, the Jets would tie the game just before halftime on Nick Folk’s 21-yard field goal.
Cleveland drove into Jets territory on its opening possession of the second half, but Milliner saved the defense by interception Jason Campbell’s pass at the Jets’ 20. Early in the fourth quarter, Smith completed seven of nine pass attempts on a 81-yard drive that ended with a touchdown when he found Nelson again, this time in the end zone’s left corner.
Smith would put the game out of reach on his next possession, when he scrambled on a third-and-2 on the Cleveland 17 and into the end zone to give the Jets a two-possession lead.
“I’ve been growing,” Smith said. “That’s a part of the process. We’re all growing as players and we’re all growing as men.”
Smith declined to address the job security of Ryan, who said that he would give his players Monday off, to celebrate the victory, before looking ahead to Sunday’s season finale at Miami, where the Jets will have a chance to finish the season with a .500 record.
“All I know is I’ve got a game in front of me and that’s where the focus is going to be,” Ryan said.
That is essentially what Ryan is now, and Sunday became his three-hour pitch about why he should keep his job for another year. His players, though already eliminated from the playoffs, supported him by rebounding from a 10-0 deficit to show they were still motivated to play for their bombastic, charismatic coach.
“We love playing for him; we love having him,” said offensive lineman Austin Howard. “Rex’s mentality resonates through this entire team.”
After leading the Jets to conference-title games in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Ryan hasn’t taken his team back since. Most coaches get fired after three straight playoff-less years; owner Woody Johnson and first-year general manager John Idzik haven’t hinted as to whether the same fate awaits Ryan.
Many of the players, though, have made up their mind. They want Ryan to stay.
“I definitely want Rex back,” said cornerback Antonio Cromartie. “I think he’s the man for the job. Speaking volumes of what kind of coach he is, I think every player in this locker room and every player that has been on this team would go to bat for him.”
Ryan declined to address a Fox Sports report, which said he told his players in a team meeting Saturday that “word on street is that he’s getting fired” and that he asked his players to “fight” with him. The coach said what is said in team meetings is private, and several players said the coach never said anything like that.
Linebacker Calvin Pace, who got his 10th sack Sunday, said that Ryan has done a remarkable job just coaching the Jets to their 7-8 record, given that many analysts picked them to be the one of the league’s worst teams.
As he has done all season, Ryan declined to comment about whether he thinks he deserves to remain on.
“My job is to focus on the present and what’s right now,” Ryan said. “The immediate thing is—guess what?—we’re going to enjoy this one.”
The coach did say earlier this week that he felt his team was “on the right path.” That seemed hard to believe before Sunday, when the Jets blundered their way to four losses in five games and dropped out of playoff contention.
But on Sunday, the team supported his statement with perhaps its best performance of the season. (Against Cleveland, granted.) Rookie Geno Smith completed 20 of his 36 pass attempts for 214 yards and two touchdowns, both to receiver David Nelson, while also running for another score. Running back Chris Ivory ran for 109 yards.
The Jets committed no turnovers, while defensive backs Dee Milliner, panned all year for his rookie inexperience, and Ed Reed, belittled for being too slow and old, each had an interception.
“I told you that this team is on the climb,” Ryan said.
The Jets on Sunday showed early signs of sass against the hapless Browns, who fell to 4-11. On their opening possession, the Jets faked a punt at their own 43-yard line. The snap went to blocker Josh Bush, who tried to pass to a wide-open Isaiah Trufant. But the throw from Bush, a backup safety, bounced well short of the target. The Browns would then score on Billy Cundiff’s 27-yard field goal.
It wasn’t until the Jets were down 10-0 that they got going. Smith found Nelson over the middle for a six-yard touchdown pass. After Cleveland went three-and-out, the Jets would tie the game just before halftime on Nick Folk’s 21-yard field goal.
Cleveland drove into Jets territory on its opening possession of the second half, but Milliner saved the defense by interception Jason Campbell’s pass at the Jets’ 20. Early in the fourth quarter, Smith completed seven of nine pass attempts on a 81-yard drive that ended with a touchdown when he found Nelson again, this time in the end zone’s left corner.
Smith would put the game out of reach on his next possession, when he scrambled on a third-and-2 on the Cleveland 17 and into the end zone to give the Jets a two-possession lead.
“I’ve been growing,” Smith said. “That’s a part of the process. We’re all growing as players and we’re all growing as men.”
Smith declined to address the job security of Ryan, who said that he would give his players Monday off, to celebrate the victory, before looking ahead to Sunday’s season finale at Miami, where the Jets will have a chance to finish the season with a .500 record.
“All I know is I’ve got a game in front of me and that’s where the focus is going to be,” Ryan said.
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