Trevor Pryce-Unearned loyalty is downfall of Rex Ryan

[Bugg]

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/nice-guy-ryan-gets-in-the-way-of-coach-ryan/

December 21, 2012, 8:17 pm

Nice-Guy Ryan Gets in the Way of Coach Ryan

By TREVOR PRYCE

In 2001, I was a member of a Denver Broncos defense that was, in all honesty, a mess. The defensive coordinator at the time was Greg Robinson, whose favorite saying was, "Guys, it's never as bad or as good as you think it is." And in most instances he was right. Sometimes a little perspective is needed. But in the case of the Jets and Rex Ryan, that perspective does not exist.

If every team had the exact same talent level on its roster, and commanding an N.F.L. sideline involved nothing more than X's and O's, Ryan would be one of the more revered coaches in sports. He is a brilliant strategist, a man who works to the point of exhaustion and possesses a passion for and knowledge of football that is unmatched. Combine that with the fact that no coach in the N.F.L knows how to get more out of less, and you have the makings of a perennial championship contender.

Sadly for Ryan's fans and friends, being a head coach these days has very little to do with X's and O's and more to do with your personality. And the two personality traits that are stopping him from being a great head coach are the same two that make him a great human being: He is loyal to the point of defiance, and he cares enormously about the people around him.

Bill Belichick displays neither of those traits, certainly not while coaching. It's why on a whim and following a stiff breeze, the man some call Darth Hood traded defensive end Richard Seymour, who was still in his prime and seemingly destined to be a Patriot for life, to the mess that is the Oakland Raiders for a few draft picks. For two years, Ryan has stuck with a quarterback who played as if he were trying to get him fired.

Ryan's players and staff felt awful for their coach and friend when private moments in his life became public and embarrassed him and his family. In contrast, John Harbaugh had to quell a potential player mutiny in Baltimore two months ago. In Tampa Bay, some players reportedly wanted Greg Schiano and his staff sent back to college.

Eagles Coach Andy Reid fired the defensive coordinator Juan Castillo during the season, as if it was somehow Castillo's fault that the players Reid picked had no interest in tackling. Ryan gave a friend, the former Pro Bowl defensive back Mark Carrier, the job coaching the Jets' defensive line in 2010. Did it matter that Carrier knew next to nothing about defensive line play the day he inherited Shaun Ellis, Sione Po'uha and Kris Jenkins? Not to Ryan.

Being an N.F.L. coach is the ultimate study in "him or me" politics. You have to be willing to sacrifice just about anyone in your organization for the greater good. To a coach, the "greater good" often means protecting your own job security first. And that is the last thing Ryan wants to do.

Even with someone as polarizing as the former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, whose relationship with Ryan eventually grew contentious, Ryan's first choice would have been to work it out. They parted on mutual terms because the last thing Ryan was going to do was fire a guy he believed in. No matter what.

Ryan somehow winds up with players nobody wants and then talks about them as if they are Pro Bowlers in order to build their confidence. In some cases, he is right, and the player ends up being a contributor for years. Bart Scott is one of the most successful examples. But in way too many cases Ryan is wrong, and that reality eventually becomes painfully apparent. The examples of defensive end Aaron Maybin and all of his current quarterbacks come to mind.

No one ever said Ryan was not a tough coach or a competitor. He is. It's the reason he used to record the fights in practice and took the Jets to two A.F.C. championship games in a row. But these days being tough is not quite enough. In today's world of access and social media, a head coach also has to be cold and calculating.

However, the debacle that was Monday's loss at Tennessee was probably the day of change. Because when Ryan looks back on this season, it is going to harden him and change him.

The day is going to come when his player and coaching decisions will be made with the same cutthroat efficiency that you find in places like New England, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Ryan will realize he has no choice but to develop that same poisonous "him or me" attitude that permeates almost every other head coach in the N.F.L. And on that day the Jets will gain one of the better head coaches in the league. At the same time they will lose one of its better human beings.

And that is sad, because as Greg Robinson used to say, "It's never as bad as you think it is."

Trevor Pryce played in the N.F.L. from 1997 to 2010, including four seasons for Rex Ryan.

[T0mShane]

Pretty damning stuff. But, f*ck Rex.

[CrazyCarl40]

Pretty solid article. Question is whether or not he'll get another shot at redemption. He probably almost needs to get fired to become a better coach at this point.

[bitonti]

firing Rex at this point would be somewhat like when the Browns fired Belly. He's gonna learn all these hard lessons with the Jets (as he's a real young coach by HC standards) and then use them on his next team. He's got potential to be a great HC.

[T0mShane]

Pretty solid article. Question is whether or not he'll get another shot at redemption. He probably almost needs to get fired to become a better coach at this point.

That'd be the route, IMO. All player's coaches end up the same way, and they're stunned every time their "guys" roll over on them. Rex would do well to latch onto a staff with a tough HC to see how it's done correctly, then try again in a few years. But, latching on to losers like Holmes, Sanchez, McKnight, etc, and being afraid to crush them when it calls for it, kills the entire locker room.

[pointman]

Rex would be a cool guy to have a beer with, but he is a garbage coach.

[bitonti]

But, latching on to losers like Holmes, Sanchez, McKnight, etc, and being afraid to crush them when it calls for it, kills the entire locker room.

I agree with this but also wonder what his options were. We are gonna see the Greg McElroy show. We've already seen the WR other than holmes and the RB other than McK. It's fine to say Rex needs to be less loyal but who is he gonna bench these guys for exactly?

[T0mShane]

firing Rex at this point would be somewhat like when the Browns fired Belly. He's gonna learn all these hard lessons with the Jets (as he's a real young coach by HC standards) and then use them on his next team. He's got potential to be a great HC.

The die is cast here, unfortunately. Unless Tannenbaum can figure out how to flip 75% of the roster this offseason, Rex can't pretend he's a hard-ass next year just because it's expedient. He brought in the headcasea thinking they'd dig his buddy-buddy style, now he had to die by them. He can go to the next locker room and pretend he's a meanie.

[bitonti]

He can go to the next locker room and pretend he's a meanie.

he won't have to pretend. Life as an NFL HC is meaning him up just fine. These guys coach until they are 65 and 70 to fire Rex now is missing out on his prime years.

[T0mShane]

I agree with this but also wonder what his options were. We are gonna see the Greg McElroy show. We've already seen the WR other than holmes and the RB other than McK. It's fine to say Rex needs to be less loyal but who is he gonna bench these guys for exactly?

If you bench Holmes for a game last year for being an a$$hole and you're forced to start Pat Turner as a result, you'll have earned more (in terms of controlling the locker room) than you'll lose in the dropoff between Holmes and Turner. Letting Holmes and Plax run wild last year is going to be the #1 cause of death of this regime. It effectively ended any chance of Sanchez growing into the position, and it poisoned the locker room. It doesn't matter how self-motivated an employee is, if the guy in the cubicle next to him is a malignant douche and nothing's done about it, it sets the bar lower for everyone.

[dbatesman]

However, the debacle that was Monday's loss at Tennessee was probably the day of change. Because when Ryan looks back on this season, it is going to harden him and change him.

Sounds great, Trev, but we told ourselves the same thing after blowing two winnable AFC title games, after a pathetic collapse to end last season, and after 14 weeks of trotting Mark Sanchez out there just because. You'll forgive me if I'm skeptical about the possibility of this game being the moment that finally changes Rex.

[T0mShane]

he won't have to pretend. Life as an NFL HC is meaning him up just fine. These guys coach until they are 65 and 70 to fire Rex now is missing out on his prime years.

He's done here unless Tanny can flip the roster. If Rex shows up next year and thinks he can start screaming at Cro, Holmes, Landry, etc, they'll know he's a fraud and shut it down on him.

[RutgersJetFan]

The die is cast here, unfortunately. Unless Tannenbaum can figure out how to flip 75% of the roster this offseason, Rex can't pretend he's a hard-ass next year just because it's expedient. He brought in the headcasea thinking they'd dig his buddy-buddy style, now he had to die by them. He can go to the next locker room and pretend he's a meanie.

This is a guy who wouldn't bench Mark Sanchez until it was 2 months too late and still hadn't learned his lesson at halftime of the Tennessee game. That level of stubborn and stupid isn't easily unlearned.

[bitonti]

Letting Holmes and Plax run wild last year is going to be the #1 cause of death of this regime. It effectively ended any chance of Sanchez growing into the position, and it poisoned the locker room. It doesn't matter how self-motivated an employee is, if the guy in the cubicle next to him is a malignant douche and nothing's done about it, it sets the bar lower for everyone.

it's a chicken egg routine. if Sanchez was adequate and could feed these WR, they wouldn't be douches. The real question is why didn't Rex bench Mark and we all know the answer to that.

[bitonti]

This is a guy who wouldn't bench Mark Sanchez until it was 2 months too late and still hadn't learned his lesson at halftime of the Tennessee game. That level of stubborn and stupid isn't easily unlearned.

if that decision was 100% REx i would agree. Let's be real tho this roster was constructed for Mark Sanchez to play QB. Going to broken rib Tebow or Greg McElroy aren't real choices. I hope to be proven wrong by McElroy throwing 4 TD against SD.

[RutgersJetFan]

Sounds great, Trev, but we told ourselves the same thing after blowing two winnable AFC title games, after a pathetic collapse to end last season, and after 14 weeks of trotting Mark Sanchez out there just because. You'll forgive me if I'm skeptical about the possibility of this game being the moment that finally changes Rex.

X1000. For two years his solution has been to cry like a baby when they screw up. He's proven himself to be no more than a delusional idiot this season. And now all of a sudden the light bulb is going to go on in the head of a 50 year old man? Yeah, sorry. Life doesn't exactly work like that.

[T0mShane]

This is a guy who wouldn't bench Mark Sanchez until it was 2 months too late and still hadn't learned his lesson at halftime of the Tennessee game. That level of stubborn and stupid isn't easily unlearned.

At the end of the day, Rex exerted as much discipline on Holmes and Sanchez as Woody and Tanny brought down on him, which is to say "none." That lack of accountability likely removed the incentive for Rex to improve (same as with Herm, btw), and now everybody is clownshoes. He's a national punch line now, though. Getting fired would be the best thing that ever happened to him.

[RutgersJetFan]

if that decision was 100% REx i would agree.

If that decision isn't 100% Rex then he's even more the gutless coward and shouldn't be anywhere near the head of a ****ing team.

[T0mShane]

it's a chicken egg routine. if Sanchez was adequate and could feed these WR, they wouldn't be douches. The real question is why didn't Rex bench Mark and we all know the answer to that.

Plax and Holmes were both forcibly removed from far better franchises prior to coming to the Jets. It's a chicken or the chicken situation.

[RutgersJetFan]

At the end of the day, Rex exerted as much discipline on Holmes and Sanchez as Woody and Tanny brought down on him, which is to say "none." That lack of accountability likely removed the incentive for Rex to improve (same as with Herm, btw), and now everybody is clownshoes. He's a national punch line now, though. Getting fired would be the best thing that ever happened to him.

No argument here on that end. I'm on record plenty of times that this is all a reflection of a clueless douchebag of an owner. Until he budges we're forever going to be stuck in the never bad enough/never good enough cycle.

[dbatesman]

Until he budges we're forever going to be stuck in the never bad enough/never good enough cycle.

The other day, I thought to myself, "man, Mike Brown is a thousand times worse than Woody, and they're doing ok, kind-of."

In other words, my dream for the Jets was for them to be as good as the Cincinnati Bengals. We're ****ed.

[RutgersJetFan]

Plax and Holmes were both forcibly removed from far better franchises prior to coming to the Jets. It's a chicken or the chicken situation.

"Boy I'll tell ya I ran down the hall to Mike Tannenbaum when he became available..."

Every time. Literally every time. Enough already. And the spoonfed 'best chance to win' nonsense this year with Sanchez. If it came from above then he really is nothing but a puppet megaphone, and if it didn't then he's really just that stupid of a person. Neither scenario is remotely acceptable of a head coach.

[dbatesman]

Also, it's become apparent that he cries after every loss. Every single loss! Seriously.

[CrazyCarl40]

Also, it's become apparent that he cries after every loss. Every single loss! Seriously.

I'm not sure who cries more: Rex Ryan or Claire Danes in "Homeland".

[RutgersJetFan]

Also, it's become apparent that he cries after every loss. Every single loss! Seriously.

:sniff: When are you guys gonna believe? :sniff:

HOW ABOUT WHEN YOU START COACHING YOU JAGOFF.

[dbatesman]

:sniff: When are you guys gonna believe? :sniff:

That one was my favorite. As if the thing holding this team back is lack of confidence (ha!), not his handpicked QB being a mopey assbucket.

[neckdemon]

He's done here unless Tanny can flip the roster. If Rex shows up next year and thinks he can start screaming at Cro, Holmes, Landry, etc, they'll know he's a fraud and shut it down on him.

i hope you really don't expect tanny to still be here if rex is

[jack48]

Well, personally I think a lot of good points have been made, but I do not want ot wait for Rex Dumbass to turn into Rex Vader. He may not. A lot of changes have to be made. Do we want to make changes for next year and then make amendments to those changes when we have to fire Rex after another year as a dumbass? frankly I hav ehad enough.

[RutgersJetFan]

I do not want ot wait for Rex Dumbass to turn into Rex Vader.

[jack48]

Wow--you got the shape and everything

[Stonehands]

A well written article that basically says that Rex doesn't have the stones to be a good HC.

[SenorGato]

When I called Ryan a figurehead when he was hired it was just crazy Gato being crazy Gato.

[Integrity28]

firing Rex at this point would be somewhat like when the Browns fired Belly. He's gonna learn all these hard lessons with the Jets (as he's a real young coach by HC standards) and then use them on his next team. He's got potential to be a great HC.

I agree, to an extent.

[Bugg]

Parcells talks about being 4-12 and a "player's coach" his first year. And then realizing that the "your guys" thing is BS if players don't produce. Either way we need a new GM, and said GM has to sit down with Ryan and explore if he has learned this, if he can change his ways and if he understand that allowing the offense to decay with the way the NFL rules is is unacceptable. If he uses the phrase ground and pound he should be hit in the head with a shovel. And if he won't change his ways dramatically, see ya.

[Bugg]

"Boy I'll tell ya I ran down the hall to Mike Tannenbaum when he became available..."

Every time. Literally every time. Enough already. And the spoonfed 'best chance to win' nonsense this year with Sanchez. If it came from above then he really is nothing but a puppet megaphone, and if it didn't then he's really just that stupid of a person. Neither scenario is remotely acceptable of a head coach.

NOBODY is signing with the Jets because of Rex Ryan. Players have a finite career earnings potential and agents who will direct them to the highest bidder. May be a Junior Seau or John Lynch sign up with the Pats at the end in hopes of a ring, but that's usually crap anyway.