New York Jets Could Interview Stunning Candidate For Second Tenure as Coach

A former New York Jets head coach is expecting to get a call soon to interview for their job opening.

Dec 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan walks off the field after losing to the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Jets 17-16. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Jets are one of several NFL franchises that will be looking for a new head coach during the offseason.

They fired Robert Saleh after a loss to the Minnesota Vikings overseas in London in Week 5, which dropped their record to 2-3 on the year. In hindsight, he was not the correct move to make, as things have gotten much worse.

While Saleh has landed on his feet since joining the Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff, his former team has fallen flat on their face. The Jets are 2-9 since making the decision to move on from him, as their defense has fallen apart.

With so many facets of the team not living up to par, it should come as no surprise that a wide net is going to be cast in the search for not only a new head coach, but a general manager to run the front office as well.

One candidate to keep an eye on is ESPN analyst and former Jets head coach, Rex Ryan.

On Monday morning, he told Jake Asman of ESPN New York Radio that he expects to talk to team brass about their head coaching vacancy once the season is over.

League insider Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirmed that there is certainly a chance that Ryan is brought in to interview for the job and to become head coach of the franchise for the second time.

Actually a possibility, believe it or not, as a candidate who could be interviewed. https://t.co/l2Vfeu9a5a

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 30, 2024

He was head coach in New York for six seasons following a successful four-year run as the defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens. Ryan was the last head coach to lead the Jets to the postseason in the 2010 campaign.

In his first two years on the job, the team made the AFC Championship Game, losing to the Indianapolis Colts the first time and Pittsburgh Steelers in the second.

After winning nine games in his debut and 11 the following year, New York failed to win more than eight games in each of the next four seasons. In his final campaign, the Jets went 4-12 and he was fired.

Ryan didn’t last long on the market, as the Buffalo Bills hired him shortly after. He didn’t even make it through two full seasons, as he was fired after Week 16 in 2016.

Overall, he went 46-50 with New York before going 15-16 with the Bills.

He has not been shy about campaigning for the Jets head coaching job, as he shared a pitch during an appearance on ESPN New York Radio Show Bart and Hahn in November. 

Ryan is expecting the chance to explain to ownership why he is the best fit for the job just over 10 years after being fired originally.