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Rex Ryan Gives Pitch to Coach Jets A Second Time Amid Disappointing Season

Ryan coached the Jets from 2009-14, advancing to two consecutive AFC Championship Games during his tenure in New York.

Tim Capurso

Former New York Jets coach Rex Ryan during a 2013 game.
Former New York Jets coach Rex Ryan during a 2013 game. / NorthJersey.com file photo, NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Rex Ryan wants to coach the New York Jets again.

Ryan, an NFL analyst for ESPN who regularly appears on Get Up and Sunday NFL Countdown on Thursday made an appearance on the ESPN New York drive time show Bart and Hahn with former Jets linebacker Bart Scott and fellow host Alan Hahn, and made his best pitch to Jets brass as to why he should be given a second chance in Gotham City after the dust settles on a lost season for New York.

"There's way too much talent on this team to play the way we've been playing," Ryan said. "Period. And, how hard can you get a guy to play? That's the thing. Like, nobody's seen the team going to play the way ... As hard as this team's going to play in the future, trust me, if I'm the guy. Trust me."

The Jets entered the season with playoff hopes—and beyond—with a healthy Aaron Rodgers returning from an Achilles tear that ended his 2023 season. But after starting 2-3, the Jets fired coach Robert Saleh and installed defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich as the interim coach.

Since that point, the team has gone 1-5, as the wheels have officially fallen off, despite the club trading for All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams during that span. This past week, New York officially moved on from its most recent regime, firing general manager Joe Douglas.

That means New York will be in search of its fourth coach since Ryan's firing in 2014. Or perhaps they would consider a reunion with the outspoken Ryan, who coached the team to a 46-50 record and led them to two straight AFC Championship games in 2009 and 2010.

If they do, Ryan made it clear what the Jets would be getting from him, compared to the field of other coaching candidates.

"And that's going to be it," Ryan said. "That's what's going to seperate me from all these other guys you're going to bring in. You know, your Grudens [Jon Gruden], your whoever or whatever, give me a break. They ain't New York Jets. I'm all about the Jets."

"And the great thing is, alright yeah, second chance. You'd get a second chance at it, things that doesn't happen very often. Yeah, well when it does, it's usually special. And so, we'll find out if I get that chance or not."

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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