Mike Pettine saved Rex Ryan's job. The basis of the extension offer to Pettine was that the Jets wanted the Ryan scheme and coaching tree but without the actual Ryan media baggage and legacy to Mark Sanchez. Pettine owes his entire career to Rex Ryan. Pettine could have rested on his laurels, from his family football pedigree and been Eric Taylor 3.0. Instead he flushed out a relatively easy path and tenure to handle game tape for the Ravens for pennies. Low level staff in the NFL make nothing. There's a high school kid who works part time at my godson's comic book store that probably made more this week than Pettine then. Ryan picked him out of the crowd and groomed him.
For rejecting the Jets offer, Woody Johnson promptly drove a knife in Pettine's back. Just like he drove one into Tannebaum's back over the Drew Stanton trade. The one time a year that you are allowed to lie baldface and in the open in the NFL is during draft season. No one is telling the truth or only parts of it, so everyone has to let it go, no harm, no foul. Pettine was a known and planned funnel for Jet's specific misinformation to the press to divert attention away from certain draft prospects they liked by making it seemed like they wanted others. Instead Johnson spun it that Pettine was a rat who turned on Ryan and was selling Ryan out to the press because he wanted his job.
Right now Rex Ryan is an emotional wreck in private. Lots of people internally in the league who know him are worried about Ryan, esp as he is not in the mental state to best defend his interests, and instead of Pettine covering his own good name to the press, which would force Ryan to essentially resign for his dignity and forfeit the rest of his contract, Pettine just stood in front of the bullets.
Despite all his misgivings, and save a few malcontents who would be team cancers anywhere, most players want to play and many coaches want to coach for Rex Ryan. Very few NFL coaches reach players to that that ride or die mentality. Rod Marinelli, who sadly struggled as a head coach, his guys would walk through broken glass and landmines for. Mike Zimmer, after his wife died, his players simply willed themselves as a unit to savage anyone in their path, like they were on a personal crusade. Rex Ryan is one of those guys. So very little is made I believe, of Pete Carroll getting his players, there's a lot of talent in Seattle, but it's not particularly overwhelming, to buy in completely. Very few coaches can truly "coach up" when facing a specific level of talent. It's very hard to do at this level. Forget the media pundits and the feet scandal and his overactive mouth in the past, Ryan is one of those guys.
Ryan is a good coach, in the wrong job now, being held onto for the wrong reasons. It's a lot easier to find a new job than it is to be a good coach at this level. Ryan, long term, is going to be fine, it just won't be in NY and he's going to have to wait a few years to find the right path.
Edited by bitonti, 10 January 2013 - 12:49 PM.
