Newsday’s Kimberley Martin sat down with Jets coach Rex Ryan for a one-on-one interview on Thursday, and the session grabbed a lot of national attention.
Ryan lashed out at his critics.
“I’m a hell of a lot better football coach than I’m given credit for,” Ryan told Newsday. “I don’t need the credit. But I can tell you one thing, when it’s said and done, they’ll look back and say, ‘Oh man, this dude can coach his butt off.’ And you know what? It’s true. And I’ll let the people that know best talk on my behalf about the kind of coach I am.
“I don’t have to brag, even though statistically, I can brag about anything I’ve ever done defensively.
“I’ve never been just a defensive coordinator since the day I came here. This was my football team and it was going to play to my personality. And that’s exactly what it did.
“But even defensively, that fell off a little. And when I look at those tapes, I’m not proud of what’s there. I am not proud of that whatsoever. So when I look at that, I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s not happening again.’ I don’t know what our record will be, but you’re not going to want to play us.
What will Jets fans say about Ryan when it’s all said and done?
“He’s a hell of a football coach, and you know what? He had more passion than anybody who’s ever coached here before.’ Eventually that’s what’s going to be said about me. And hopefully it’s not for another 15 years.”