I'll freely admit it. I was fundamentally against the hiring of a Rex Ryan type coach from the start. Even before Eric Mangini was let go, I thought that the right direction to go was one of experience. Let's face it, the first time head coach just hadn't worked for the Jets in recent years. Herm Edwards was decent, but ultimately ended in calamity. Eric Mangini was a wunderkind for a season, but it quickly became evident that he was a horrible in-game coach. Even Al Groh was a vaunted genius for a time and then ran away quicker then a pardoned death row inmate leaves a penitentiary. The last period of sustained success for the Jets had been under Bill Parcells. Parcells was one of the most accomplished and respected coaches at the time (and still is), and it showed. To return to that era, an era in which competitiveness was almost guaranteed, I thought the Jets needed to hire a guy like Bill Cower, Marty Shotenheimer, or even Brian Billick. Many of the Jets problems this year were a direct result of Mangini being an inexperienced head coach who more often than not, looked like he was in over his head.
But after hearing Rex Ryans press conference yesterday, my feelings have changed. I have bought in. Rex said all the right things and appears more prepared for the job than anyone could be. His five hour power point will prove evidence to that. I was utterly captivated by everything Ryan said at the press conference yesterday. He talked about toughness. He talked about physicality. He talked about identity. These are all things that the Jets lacked on both sides of the ball during last season's collapse. But what I liked most is that he talked about winning.
On Sports Talk for Dummies last night, I joked that Rex "had me at hello". All kidding and bad movie puns aside, their is an element of truth to this statement. The first thing Ryan said when he came up to the podium was this: "with all the cameras and all that, I was looking for our new president back there. I think we'll get to meet him in the next couple of years anyway."... Rex is certainly not the first coach to mention the Super Bowl in his introductory press conference and you can bet that he won't be the last, but I was still struck by the confidence and swagger with which he said it. The goals are clear with Ryan. Theirs no "we'll take what comes". Theirs no "rolling with the punches". Their is no coach speak. The goal is the Super Bowl and Ryan makes no bones about that. He's not afraid to say it either and it appears as if he's not afraid to fail. More often then not in sports, you will succeed when you aren't afraid of failure. Eric Mangini and Herm Edwards fear of failure was palpable, even transparent and comical at times. You could see it in their eyes, you could read it in their quotes. Ryan appears ready to face that fear...and promptly smack it in the mouth.
With Ryan, The Jets are finally beginning to form their own identity. For too long they have tried to be the New England Patriots. With the hiring of Eric Mangini came the Patriot way. Life in Jet land was about over preparation and secrecy. It was about trying to out-genius Bill Belicheck and looking like buffoons in the process. That style of organizational structure has worked wonders in Foxboro, but never fit the Jets quite right. It always seemed like they were the annoying little brother trying desperately to act exactly like the bullying, domineering older brother. This seldom works in real life and never worked for the Jets. Ryan will bring an old school toughness that has been lacking during the search for the next great football genius. "The message to the rest of the league is 'Hey the Jets are coming and we're going to give you everything we've got, and that's going to be, I think, more then you can handle" said Ryan when referring to his teams toughness. "The players will have each others backs, and if you take a swipe at one of ours, we'll take a swipe at two of yours." Did you ever think you'd hear something as candid and honest from a Jets head coach as this. Sure, Edwards was honest and quirky, but aside from his "you play to win the game speech", he never spoke with this kind of drive and vigor. Their is a distinct and shallow difference between being candid and being confident. Ryan spoke with a confidence that is both exciting and direct.
Ryan was a great hire because he's different. It didn't take more then a few sentences for me to buy in. If I buy in that quickly, I can only imagine how fast the players will. But for now, I will act as the conductor of the REXpress. Get on it!
Jordan Lauterbach
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