By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-20 17:55:18 | Updated at 2024-11-23 21:51:25
3 days ago
With the New York Jets' season heading toward a sure-fire crash before Thanksgiving, a new coaching candidate has emerged to resurrect their title hopes next year.
Sitting third in the AFC East with a 3-8 record, New York began the rebooting process by firing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas.
Amid the chaos, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported that a previous coach is up for the job and task of taking Aaron Rodgers and Co. to the promised land.
Florio recently suggested that owner Woody Johnson is considering bringing back former head coach-turned-ESPN analyst Rex Ryan to the sideline.
'There's a belief among some who know how Woody operates that, given the current state of the team, he might decide to try to recapture a little of the (almost) glory days, when Rex got the Jets within sniffing distance of a Super Bowl,' Florio wrote.
Rex Ryan has emerged as a coaching candidate for the struggling New York Jets next season
Aaron Rodgers and Co. are 3-8 to start the season and have fired their head coach and GM
'It's not just crazy spit-balling,' he continued. 'Who else would take the job? No one with options will opt to work for Woody.
'For Rex, who has been there and done that and might want to go there and do that again, there's no one else clamoring to hire him to be a head coach. It's a perfect fit.'
Ryan had a memorable six-year tenure as the Jets head coach from 2009-2014 when he went 46-50 and appeared on back-to-back AFC Championship appearances. He accomplished the success with Mark Sanchez and Kellen Clemens as his quarterbacks.
After fizzling out in 2015 and 2016, Ryan was fired and re-routed his career path toward the broadcast booth.
He has since been linked to several coaching positions, but none materialized to the point of him dropping the headset.
Ryan led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship games during his six-year tenure
Given his position at ESPN, Ryan has addressed the glaring issues with the Jets. He also went as far as saying the team would be undefeated with 40-year-old Rodgers facilitating the offense and him at the helm.
'The coaching is an absolute disaster. I'm not sugarcoating it — it's been bad, it stinks, and there's no way around it,' Ryan told ESPN New York's DiPietro and Rothenberg on Monday.
'This guy, your defensive coordinator and head coach — good luck with that for a guy that's never done it.'
When asked where the Jets would be with him in charge, Ryan said 'Probably undefeated. That's just me.'
The Jets elevated Jeff Ulbrich to interim head coach after Saleh's dismissal. The team is riding a two-game skid as they gear up to face the Seahawks on Dec. 1.
