Rex Ryan News 1/18

[SoFlaJets]

With Steve Spagnuolo off to the Rams, Jets should be set with Rex Ryan

Steve Spagnuolo's hiring by the Rams Saturday made two things clear. The Giants need a new defensive coordinator and the Jets have decided to hire Rex Ryan as their new head coach, barring the absurd, such as Bill Belichick calling up Woody Johnson and saying he indeed wants to be the HC of the NYJ.

That, of course, is not happening. And the late entry of Jon Gruden into the recycled bin of available former Super Bowl-winning coaches to go along with Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren, has not done anything to get the Jets to back off the son of Buddy.

So the Rams wind up with Spagnuolo, the hottest assistant in the NFL, who somehow was coming very close to getting shut out of all the jobs. Ryan also interviewed with the Rams, but any coach, given an option, would take the Jets over the Rams despite the uncertainty over Brett Favre.

Now all Spags has to do is turn around a team that just finished a 2-14 season by losing its last 10 games and is 5-27 over the last two seasons. But quick turnarounds are no longer an aberration in the NFL.

"I'm happy for him," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck told the Daily News Saturday. "I'm wishing he could have stayed, but he feels he did what's best for him and his family. He deserves it. I'm going to miss him a lot. I really thrived in his system the last two years, and a lot of my growth is due to him."

The Jets had an up-close view of what Spags meant to the Giants over the last two years. They interviewed him twice, once when Johnson was out of the country on vacation during the Giants' bye week and then at Johnson's office in Manhattan last Tuesday. If the Jets wanted Spags, they would have hired him after the second meeting, preempting his visit with the Rams on Thursday. They obviously wanted Ryan instead.

Did the Jets make the right call? The Giants have a history of producing defensive coordinators who are very successful NFL head coaches: Tom Landry, Bill Parcells, Belichick and John Fox.

It's always hard to project how career assistants will do when they move into the No. 1 office. Ryan and Spagnuolo should each be successful head coaches, but you never know until they have to make all the big decisions.

It will be interesting to see who develops into the better head coach. Ryan could be named by the Jets as early as Monday if the Ravens lose in Sunday's AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh. If the Ravens win, the Jets have to wait until after the Super Bowl.

Spags interviewed with the Browns, Lions, Broncos, Jets and the Rams. The first three teams hired coaches, and the Jets are locked in on Ryan. So the music was close to stopping, and Spagnuolo was close to being left without a chair, which would have been unfortunate.

Tuck could have been the Super Bowl MVP last season for the way he tormented Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense. This season he made his first Pro Bowl and was named first team All-Pro. Next year, he will try to do it again without Spagnuolo.

The turning point in the Super Bowl season came just two games into Spagnuolo's career with the Giants. The defense gave up 80 points in the first two games against the Cowboys and Packers and it looked as if Tom Coughlin either had made a mistake on Spagnuolo or misjudged the Giants' ability to adapt to Jim Johnson's high-pressure attack that Spags brought from the Eagles in 2007.

Spagnuolo took the opportunity at 0-2 to give his players a pep talk. He knew the system worked because the Eagles had gone to four NFC Championship Games with it this decade. They are in their fifth Sunday. He didn't question himself and he didn't question his players. The next week, the Giants put on a last-minute goal-line stand in Washington that defined their season.

"His biggest thing was saying, 'I know there is talent in the locker room and I still have faith in you guys,'" Tuck said. "He really didn't know us at all, but it really put in perspective what kind of guy we had."

In their playoff victories against the Bucs, Cowboys, Packers and Patriots last year, the Giants gave up a total of 65 points. They held the Patriots, who had just set the NFL record for scoring with 589 points (nearly 37 points per game) during their 16-0 regular season, to just 14 points with a near-perfect game plan. The Giants sacked Brady five times and hit him hard the entire game.

"I would say (Spagnuolo) did a great job of scheming going into that game," Tuck said. "We had a chance to shut them out. They got two touchdowns, but we had an opportunity to completely shut them down. He came up with a great plan they really couldn't stop."

Coughlin should hire from within to maintain continuity and keep Spagnuolo's scheme intact. He likely will pick from among linebackers coach Bill Sheridan, defensive line coach Mike Waufle and secondary coach Peter Giunta.

Spagnuolo has taken on a huge rebuilding project with a team with an uncertain future amid reports the Rams could be sold. But he worked with Rams general manager Billy Devaney with the Redskins and Chargers, which will help in his transition to be a head coach for the first time.

He could have had the Redskins' job after the Super Bowl last year following 20 hours of interviews with Daniel Snyder. But the coaching staff was already in place, which made the job unattractive. He turned it down and the Giants rewarded him with a three-year, $6 million contract. He gets a four-year, $11.5 million deal with the Rams.

Spagnuolo would have been an easy sell for the Jets to their fans. But there was something about Ryan they liked better. This time next year we will see if they were right.

gmyers@nydailynews.com

[SoFlaJets]

All Jets eyes on Ravens coordinator tonight

Sunday, January 18, 2009

BY J.P. PELZMAN

NorthJersey.com

STAFF WRITER

Many NFL players whose teams didn't make the playoffs don't bother watching the postseason, figuring that it will be too painful to think about what might have been

But the Jets' hierarchy certainly will be paying close attention today to NFL Championship Sunday, with eyes toward the future.

Owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum will be particularly interested in the second game, in which Baltimore visits Pittsburgh for the AFC title. Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan is the leading candidate for the Jets' vacant head coach position, and his havoc-wreaking 3-4 defense has caused eight turnovers in the Ravens' two playoff victories.

Johnson and Tannenbaum also may check out the early game, in which Arizona plays host to Philadelphia. Arizona assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm, a disciple of Joe Gibbs and Bill Cowher, also is in the running for the job, having interviewed with the Jets on Jan. 8.

If the Jets want to quickly hire Ryan, they'll be hoping for a Pittsburgh victory today. That would make him free to negotiate with any team for a head coach position because his team's season would be over. If Baltimore wins, the Jets could interview him this week, but wouldn't be able to officially offer him the job until after the Super Bowl. They likely could try to secure an unofficial agreement.

E-mail: pelzman@northjersey.com

[SoFlaJets]

REX MAY BE JOINING 'GANG' SOON

January 18, 2009

Posted: 2:56 am

January 18, 2009

Another potential roadblock between the JetsNew York Jets and Rex Ryan fell yesterday when the Rams hired Steve Spagnuolo as head coach.

The Rams were the only team other than the Jets seriously interested in Ryan as a head coaching candidate.

The Rams and the Jets both interviewed the Ravens defensive coordinator last Sunday in Baltimore.

Now that the Rams went with Spagnuolo, the Jets are Ryan's only suitor. If the Ravens lose to Pittsburgh in today's AFC Championship Game, expect Ryan to get an offer as early as tomorrow from the Jets.

Spagnuolo went from an early favorite to an afterthought quickly with the Jets. He did not overwhelm the team during his Jan. 3 interview and his background with the 4-3 defense made him less attractive to the Jets than Ryan, who is a proponent of the 3-4.

Eric Mangini spent the last three years tailoring the Jets' personnel to play the 3-4, making a switch back to a 4-3 a step backward for the team.

It became clear this week the Jets were not interested in hiring Spagnuolo. Once the GiantsNew York Giants lost last Sunday, any team was free to make Spagnuolo an offer. When the Jets didn't, it was apparent they were leaning toward Ryan.

Jets owner Woody Johnson did meet with Spagnuolo in Manhattan on Tuesday, but that seemed more like a formality than a true second interview. Johnson was out of the country when Spagnuolo first interviewed with the team.

There figures to be plenty of Steelers fans at Jets headquarters today. If the Ravens win, the team must wait another two weeks until after the Super Bowl before they can hire Ryan.

The Jets have concentrated on finding a new head coach since firing Mangini on Dec. 29, but another league development may have caught their eye yesterday.

Julius Peppers asked out of Carolina yesterday. The 28-year-old defensive end will become a free agent unless the Panthers apply the franchise tag to him. Peppers would give the Jets a defensive impact player they need, and Peppers reportedly wants to play in a 3-4.

However, it would take some salary cap creativity from Mike Tannenbaum for it to happen. Currently, the Jets are believed to be about $10 million over the cap for 2009.

brian.costello@nypost.com

[SoFlaJets]

Ryan would bring a ****iness to the Jets

Who Rex Ryan is and the kind of attitude he might bring to the Jets was evident at a news conference last week.

He perceived a slight to his guys, and it was up to Ryan to set the record straight.

"I read all the experts say we would have given up 150 yards to the running back from Tennessee," the Ravens defensive coordinator said, referring to Titans rookie Chris Johnson.

Johnson did have things going, rushing for 72 yards in the first half. Then he was knocked out of the game, a point that Ryan found important and underplayed in the media.

"But remember, he never finished the game for some reason," he said with a cryptic smile. "Whatever that reason is ... they can cry all they want. Who cares? We're here. We're still playing, and they can watch us."

****y. Confident. Devil-may-care. Us against them.

That's Ryan, the man who would be Rex or, at least, the next coach of the Jets.

Should the Ravens lose this afternoon's AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh, that hiring could take place as soon as tomorrow, though the Jets have said their search is ongoing.

As of yesterday, Ryan had a little less competition for the Jets' job, as Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was hired in St. Louis. The remaining leading candidates appear to be Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and Cardinals assistant Russ Grimm.

Ryan, meanwhile, jumped from strong candidate status - he was one of the first assistant coaches the Jets received permission to interview after firing Eric Mangini on Dec. 29 - to favorite last Sunday. The five-hour interview took place in Baltimore with a small Jets contingent that included owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum.

According to a source familiar with the search, Ryan impressed the Jets - Johnson most notably - with his strong personality, detailed presentation and philosophy of aggressive defense.

The fact that his current defense has forced eight turnovers in two playoff victories didn't hurt, either.

Ryan is very much the offspring of his outspoken father, Buddy. He learned at the feet of the inventor of the revolutionary "46" defense, which stressed relentless pressure. The 3-4 defense Rex runs has elements of the 46, particularly in that the pressure can come from anyone. Just don't try predicting it.

"That you can see us come from anywhere," Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata told reporters, explaining the "Organized Chaos" T-shirt he was wearing this week. "No matter what you see ... It may look like we're coming from one way and we're coming from another place. Our defense is fun and loose like that."

Renowned Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, in his 50th year in the NFL, runs a different version of the 3-4, a zone blitz scheme that Ryan has borrowed from, he said recently.

"I know his father better than him," LeBeau said this past week. "I think that he is a great coach; he does a great job. I see some of his dad's stuff in what he does. He does a great job with it. He has some pretty good players, too. They play good defense."

Then-Ravens coach Brian Billick hired Ryan in 1999 to become his defensive line coach. Since he was named defensive coordinator in 2005, Ryan's unit never has finished out of the top six in total defense.

As Ryan's stock has soared this postseason, Ravens players have been his heartiest supporters.

"Especially in our defensive room, what Rex has done, and I compliment him on this all the time, is he has kept it likable," defensive tackle Trevor Pryce said last week. "It's easy to police yourself when you're given that leeway. It's one thing if you have a coach ... and he's always like, 'You stink. You did this, you did that.' [Ryan] doesn't have to do that because we do it ourselves, and that's what makes it likable.

"That's what makes it one of those things where you say, 'I don't want to let down my teammates, but I don't want to let down my coaches, either, because we are all the same.' That's one thing I felt when I first came here. It was never us versus the coaches the way it is some other places. It's always the Ravens versus whoever."

Ryan interviewed for the Ravens' and Falcons' jobs last offseason, losing out to John Harbaugh and Mike Smith, respectively. But Ryan didn't pout, choosing instead to sign a two-year extension to become Harbaugh's defensive coordinator and refine his resume.

But not his demeanor.

As the Chris Johnson quote would indicate, Ryan speaks his mind, political correctness be damned. His defense may be complex, but the man isn't. To the core, he's a football coach. There are no airs, something Ryan felt in the past might have hindered him in interviews.

"I'm not blessed with a silver tongue like some of these guys," Ryan said recently. "I know I'm a great football coach. I know I'm a leader of men, especially guys that play this game. That's probably my edge over other people."

An edge that, depending on what happens later today, soon might land him with the Jets.

[SoFlaJets]

Where are they now? Where Joe Klecko's son goes, champagne flows

BY RICH CIMINI

As a defensive lineman for the Jets, Joe Klecko's job was to wreck things for the opposition. He did it very well, making four Pro Bowls from 1977 to 1987 and establishing himself as one of the most revered players in franchise history.

These days, Klecko is a builder, not a wrecker. He's a big shot in the construction world, a factory representative for two companies in the tri-state area - American Stair, the country's largest manufacturer of commercial stairs, and JDC Power Systems, which provides electrical products and technical assistance.

"There are two things I know about: construction and football," said Klecko, 55, who lives in Colts Neck, N.J.

Maybe so, but his true passion is following the career of his son, Dan, a fullback/defensive lineman for the Eagles. If the Eagles beat the Cardinals Sunday in the NFC Championship Game, he will have a chance to put his name among some of the immortals of the sport.

Klecko won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, one with the Colts and if the Eagles go all the way, he'll join Matt Millen as the only players in history to win a ring with three different teams. He'd also stand beside legends such as Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as four-time champions.

Not bad for an undersized defensive lineman who has played linebacker, fullback and special teams in a circuitous, yet remarkable six-year career highlighted by