12/22/24
December 29, 2014
New York Jets Fire Rex Ryan, GM John Idzik: The New York Jets have fired coach Rex Ryan after six seasons and GM John Idzik after two. The New York Times calls owner Woody Johnson's move "a tacit admission of a mistake Johnson made by insisting during the interview process 23 months ago that the new general manager retain Ryan as coach. Such a demand winnowed the pool of candidates, costing the Jets a chance to hire executives with stronger resumes." Dave Caldwell began his GM tenure in Jacksonville by firing one-year coach Mike Mularkey, so he could pick a new coach (Gus Bradley) and begin the rebuilding together. Is it ever a good idea to pair an existing coach who needs to win now with a new GM?
Despite the won-lost record, Rex Ryan is a pretty good football coach. He did not get a lot of help from his GMs and scouting at NY in selecting players. His defensive schemes usually worked well, but when your offense cannot hold onto the ball long enough to score, the success of the defense is obscured. I hope Ryan can wind up somewhere as a head coach where he can get better players on offense, and perhaps get better coaching of the offense. Until he comes back, we fans of the Patriots will miss him and the twice yearly fun before the Jets games.
posted by Howard_T at 03:06 PM on December 29, 2014
Howard, what you're describing is a good defensive coordinator. Rex is a great motivator and a fun guy, and his players loved him, particularly his defensemen. But he never put together a strong offense; even in Rex's good initial years, a fair amount of luck drove Sanchez's success. I liked having Rex as HC of the NYJ but his track record left the team with no choice.
posted by werty at 03:33 PM on December 29, 2014
I can see Chicago hiring Ryan and the Jets hiring the guy that just got fired in Atlanta.
posted by NoMich at 04:36 PM on December 29, 2014
its good move for them
posted by cegla at 04:27 AM on December 30, 2014
what you're describing is a good defensive coordinator
Maybe, but it's hard to say. He never had a really good QB and in the current NFL it doesn't seem like you can win without a top tier QB, or at least one capable of playing one for a season or two depending on how you feel about Flacco and Eli Manning. If we accept Flacco and Manning as top ten QBs in their season, you have to go back to Trent Dilfer's Ravens or Brad Johnson's Bucs for a team with a "game manager" under center whose main job was to not throw picks.
posted by yerfatma at 08:54 AM on December 30, 2014
He never had a really good QB and in the current NFL it doesn't seem like you can win without a top tier QB, or at least one capable of playing one for a season or two depending on how you feel about Flacco and Eli Manning.
Is it a lack of natural QB talent or an inability to develop quarterbacks because he isn't very good as an offensive strategist - opting for a continued run-first mentality in a league that increasingly relies on a good air game?
Nearly all of the top QBs took some time to develop, but progressed under good coaching. Rex had two highly-regarded prospects (acknowledging they weren't Peyton Manning sure things, but neither were many in the top 10), both of whom seemed to regress rather than progress under his leadership.
I think Rex gets another head coaching job because he's got the image, but like Dick LeBeau I think some people are specialists and the head coaching job needs to be higher-level than that and not everyone is cut out for it.
posted by dfleming at 10:05 AM on December 30, 2014
I don't know why State Farm doesn't let Ryan take over the Double Check ads with Aaron Rodgers. Then they wouldn't have to pay IP costs to NBC and Saturday Nite Live for the retread use of those tired old comedy routines. Hans and Franz look like they're embalmed.
posted by beaverboard at 12:18 PM on December 30, 2014
Rex had two highly-regarded prospects . . . both of whom seemed to regress rather than progress under his leadership.
If I may be pedantic, by that logic Kevin Gilbride ruined Ryan Leaf. I'm not sure whether Ryan is responsible for the lower digits of his offense (I wasn't a fan of his father's Cenozoic-era offensive ideas) but Mark Sanchez barely toes the line under offensive guru Chip Kelley, so I don't think Ryan is the sole problem. In a league obsessed with retreads, Ryan's a shoe-in for another job and can probably make a "Physician, heel thyself" case for himself.
Sadly Chad Pennington pre-dates Rex in NYC as it means I can't make a "Well, you might as well hand it off anyway" joke in Ryan's defense. Would have been corny anyway.
posted by yerfatma at 01:52 PM on December 30, 2014
"Physician, heel thyself" case for himself.
Misspelling (heel vs heal) intentional? If so, I guess you are just trying to dip a toe into the pool of this discussion.
posted by Howard_T at 12:23 AM on December 31, 2014
He never had a really good QB
Rex had two highly-regarded prospects (acknowledging they weren't Peyton Manning sure things, but neither were many in the top 10), both of whom seemed to regress rather than progress under his leadership.
Ownership tasked him over the years to develop a franchise quarterback (Sanchez, Tebow, Smith, to name three) and that's not something you ask a defensive-minded coach to do. And the material he was given to develop one wasn't exactly the best to begin with:
Sanchez: USC stock, who traditionally don't adapt well to the pro game anyway
Tebow: let's not get started with this discussion again
Smith: Jury's still out on him, but doesn't look promising so far.
This is probably why Idzik is unemployed along with Ryan.
posted by NerfballPro at 09:24 AM on December 31, 2014
Misspelling (heel vs heal) intentional?
And here I was worried it was all less-than-subtle.
posted by yerfatma at 03:17 PM on December 31, 2014
Does it feel to anyone else like Rex Ryan coached the Jets a lot longer than six years?