Rex Ryan, Head Coach of the New York Jets, has agreed to a three year extension. This comes about a month after rumors that claimed Rex Ryan would be fired after the 2013-2014 season. The Jets organization made a complete turnaround regarding Ryan’s job status.
The Jets front office made the right decision by retaining Ryan, who is 42-38 in five seasons as the Jets head coach.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
It was another mediocre season for the Jets. Going into the bye week, the Jets were 5-4, with wins over the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints. They would go 3-4 for the rest of the season, as the offense would hit a rough patch. In a three game losing streak during weeks 11-13, the Jets were outscored 79-20. The New York offense, led by rookie quarterback Geno Smith, wasn’t good enough to get the job done, as they finished 8-8.
After his first two seasons as head coach ended in the AFC Championship game, he has yet to make the playoffs again. His team has been plagued by poor play on the offensive side of the ball. The team has failed to find a franchise quarterback. The Mark Sanchez experiment showed signs of life, but ultimately failed. The Geno Smith era has begun, albeit with a shaky start. The rookie tossed a mere 12 touchdowns to go with his 21 interceptions. In his defense, he had just one receiver that surpassed 500 yards. He was sacked 43 times. His surrounding cast provided little help in his first NFL season.
The offenses have been talent starved, through no fault of Ryan. The running game has been the lone redeeming facor, but the team has failed to find quality receivers. The offensive coordinator position has been a revolving door, as three coaches have held the position in five seasons. There has been no consistency or talent on the offensive side of the ball.
Courtesy: NY Daily News
Ryan hasn’t had anything to work with. He manufactures results on the defensive side of the ball with his knowledge of defensive schemes. His commitment to the running game has paid off, as the team has consistently been among the top rushing offenses in his tenure. The previous general manager, Mike Tannenbaum, failed to acquire the pieces of a winning team. He was fired and replaced with new general manager John Idzik. Idzik has not had enough time to acquire sufficient talent.
Hopefully, Idzik can drastically improve this roster. Ryan will not get results until his team is made up of quality players.
If the Jets decide it is time to move on, they built themselves an escape. Only the first year of the extension is guaranteed, according to ESPN. After that, Ryan can be fired with negligible financial repercussions.
Rex Ryan deserves one more chance to win with the Jets. Many of the team’s struggles have not been his fault. When the team had quality players, he led them to two consecutive AFC championship games. Since then, the talent has dropped off, and so have the results. It doesn’t matter who’s cooking if the recipe is bad, and Ryan deserves another chance with improved ingredients. Ryan’s job security is in Idzik’s hands.
