REXPECTING THE WORST
Ryan appears resigned to fact Jets’ ax will drop
Rex Ryan was feeling nostalgic Friday, and it didn’t seem like a coincidence.
Despite smiling and making the occasional joke, Ryan sure sounded like a man headed for the coaching gallows after putting the Jets through what from all indications was their final practice of his sixyear tenure.
Even Ryan’s players appeared resigned to his fate. The Jets pick a “guest kicker” every Friday, and Ryan was tabbed for that honor this time.
Ryan followed that by practically holding up a sign that read, “I expect Woody Johnson to fire me Monday” during his afternoon press conference, listing regrets and accomplishments and even retelling — totally unsolicited — the story of the first practice he ran after taking over for Eric Mangini in 2009.
With the Jets reduced to one practice field that day because of construction, wide receiver Wallace Wright and defensive end Kenwin Cummings collided and knocked each other out when their oneonone drills overlapped due to the tight quarters.
“Two guys ran right into each other and I was like, ‘Man, I might get fired before the second practice,’ ’’ Ryan said with a laugh. “Two guys … and both of them knocked each other out. It was kind of a great start.”
Ryan and the Jets overcame that slapstick start during his first two seasons, reaching the AFC Championship Game both times, but the incident definitely could be considered a metaphor for the last four years.
Heading into Sunday’s finale at Miami, Ryan has missed the playoffs four years in a row. He has been around the NFL long enough to know coaches rarely get the chance to make it five in a row, and Johnson isn’t expected to make Ryan an exception to that rule.
That might explain why Ryan at times Friday already was describing his tenure in the past tense. But he still refuses to apologize for his brash, shootfromthehip style, which Ryan said helped remake the Jets’ image for the better.
“You do this to win it all, and there is no doubt about that,” Ryan said. “So obviously, I have come up short there that way. As far as all of the other stuff is concerned, I came in and I wanted to give a different identity to this team and I think we did accomplish that.”
Ryan also invoked his father, Buddy — the Jets’ defensive line coach when they won Super Bowl III — when it was pointed out to him that he never won a world championship with the Jets.
“My dad did, though,” Ryan said. Several of Ryan’s players defended him Friday, but perhaps sensing it is a foregone conclusion, they all stopped short of saying he should be back.
“He took a chance and drafted me, and I appreciate all he’s done for me and my career,” linebacker Quinton Coples said. “Personally, I think he’s a great guy and a great coach. But it’s a business, and it’s out of my hands.”
Harvin has only been a Jet since October but proclaimed his “love” of Ryan dating back to the time he spent with the Jets coach while being scouted out of Florida in 2009.
“I love him,” Harvin said. “I loved him before I got here, and I’m that much more in love with him now. That’s what guys are still playing hard for him and giving it their all. I’m not going to get into [whether he should be retained], but I just love playing for him.”
But with Harvin and Nick Mangold limited by injury and three defensive players (including star defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson) absent due to illness, the Jets weren’t exactly sharp for what looks to be Ryan’s f inal practice.
“It wasn’t a very good practice,” Ryan said. “It just never felt sharp, whether it was coming back off Christmas or what, I don’t know. It just wasn’t as sharp as most Fridays have been.”
On the other hand, at least it didn’t feature two players colliding and knocking each other out.
“I will never forget that,” Ryan said. “I have never had that happen ever. You can’t script it.”