Woody, Rex and the decision

Premium – Jets head coach Rex Ryan was asked a bunch of questions about the team’s owner Woody Johnson today at his press conference. It was a tough spot for him.

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Gary Myers caught up with Johnson at an NFL meeting yesterday, and asked him about the state of his team and the future.

“[You’ve] got to win games,” Johnson said. “Ultimately, I am going to have to look for something that I believe is going to right the ship, whether it’s the current way, the way we are doing it now with the people we have now or going down a different pathway. I’m looking at everything. I’m analyzing what’s happened and why it’s happened.
“It’s safe to say you got to do things differently that you did to get you to this point. The thing about football is that after every season, everybody is up for grabs. You take a look at everything.”

Fair enough.

Ryan was asked about this.

“I assumed that is how Woody is feeling,” Ryan said. “For me, I just go about my business and focus on the present and what is right in front of me. I won’t think about anybody else or anything else. I am just focused on right now and that is it. Obviously, the man is the owner of the team and has the right to do anything he wants and be justified in anything he chooses to do.”

I feel bad for Ryan. He’s had to answer questions like this for weeks. It’s like he’s sitting on Death Row in the Huntsville Prison.

But you know what, I don’t think Woody has made up his mind yet.

The tough part for Ryan is he’s never had a true answer at quarterback his entire six year stay with the Jets.

And that has hurt him a great deal.

This is a quarterback-driven league. If you don’t have one of those top-shelf guys, you are just spinning your wheels.

But what has also hurt Rex is too much cronyism on his coaching staff.

Yes, there are some good coaches on this staff, but overall, it’s not one of the best staffs in the league.

Another problem for Rex is that he’s non-confrontational. Which isn’t necessarily the best characteristic for a coach.

I’m not saying that you needs to scream and yell at players. Not at all. That doesn’t work very well with the modern generation.

But when Saalim Hakim commits a bad special team’s penalty, you go over to him and have a little chat.

I rarely see Rex do this.

I see guys like Pete Carroll do it.

You have to use these moments as lessons, teachable moments.

After a Hakim penalty against Miami, I saw him walk back to the sideline right by Rex, and the coach didn’t say a word do him.

I remember when Bill Parcells was the coach of the Jets. When a guy committed a penalty he tried to walk off the field as far away from Bill as possible. The player knew they were going to get an earful.

I just don’t see Rex confront enough, hold people accountable enough.

But I do think with an answer at quarterback and a better coaching staff, Rex could be successful.

However, it’s a longshot that he gets that chance.

December 11, 2014

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