Jump to content

NEW COACH MUST ANSWER SOME PRESSING QUESTIONS


Jetfan13

Recommended Posts

By BRIAN COSTELLO

sports076a.jpg

Rex Ryan

Last updated: 7:40 am

January 21, 2009

Posted: 2:58 am

January 21, 2009

Rex Ryan's football education began as a ballboy watching his dad's defenses and continued through stops as an assistant coach in places like Richmond, Ky., and Las Vegas, N.M., before reaching the NFL.

REDDING PUSHED FOR NEW YORK JOB

Today, Ryan's football career takes its next stop when the 46-year-old is introduced as the new head coach of the JetsNew York Jets t.gif.

This morning's press conference is a bit anti-climactic, with his hiring being a near certainty for the last week.

Ryan has spent the last two days familiarizing himself with the Jets and formulating his plans for the future. Today will be the Jets' fans first true taste of Ryan, though. Those who have worked with and played for Ryan say expect a brash, enthusiastic coach who talks nothing like his predecessor, Eric Mangini.

He is a big man, who has a presence when he walks into the room. His players in Baltimore swear by him because of his honesty. One of his core philosophies is "players don't care what you know until they know that you care."

But don't label Ryan a soft players' coach. He is a football man who likes aggressive players. One of his other favorite sayings is, "It's not your position, it's your disposition."

When Ryan takes the podium at 10 a.m. alongside Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum, the trio will face many questions. Here are five issues that need to be addressed today:

WHAT IS THE PLAN WITH BRETT FAVRE?

The 39-year-old quarterback is still in limbo, which is the team's most pressing concern. They need to get an answer from Favre in the next three weeks or their offseason plans will be stalled. Johnson and Tannenbaum have professed their desire for Favre to come back. Sources have said Ryan will have a say in Favre's future.

If he doesn't come back, the Jets likely will turn to Brett Ratliff or try to sign a veteran free agent like Jeff Garcia or Kerry Collins.

WHY WILL RYAN MAKE A GOOD HEAD COACH?

This would seem like an obvious question, but many good assistant coaches have failed when they moved to the big office. Just look at Mangini.

An NFL head coach is an executive these days. They make decisions on more things than Xs and Os. Ryan and the Jets' leadership can't just point to the Ravens' defensive statistics when explaining why he is the man to lead this franchise.

WHY WERE FIRST-TIME COACHES THE TARGET OF THE SEARCH?

When Johnson and Tannenbaum announced Mangini's firing, they said they would look "under every rock" for their next coach. But they showed early on they preferred to hire a first-time head coach rather than someone with experience. A brief flirtation with Bill Cowher is about as serious as they got with veteran coaches. Mike Shanahan, Marty Schottenheimer and Brian Billick were all passed over by the team.

There are many people around the league who feel Tannenbaum did not want a coach who would challenge his authority over personnel decisions. He'll have to answer this today.

DO THE JETS HAVE THE RIGHT PERSONNEL IN PLACE?

One of the reasons the Jets liked Ryan is his background with the 3-4 defense. Mangini spent his first two years tailoring the Jets' personnel to fit that system.

Ryan benefited from having great players in Baltimore - like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Do the Jets have the playmakers to let him do what he wants on defense? He also must figure out a way to fix first-round pick Vernon Gholston and make him a productive player.

WILL BRIAN SCHOTTENHEIMER BE BACK?

Ryan would like Schottenheimer to stay as offensive coordinator, and so would the Jets. The question is how upset is Schottenheimer about getting passed over for the head-coaching job. If he doesn't come back, offensive line coach Bill Callahan and Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson are the leading candidates to replace

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it's amazing how important the Gholston situation is to this franchise....you can't afford to have the 6th best player coming out to be a wasted pick...it seems that it's especially important for Mike Tannenbaum, read as; Job On Line

Hopefully Ryan can maximize Gholston's potential.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By BRIAN COSTELLO

sports076a.jpg

Rex Ryan

Last updated: 7:40 am

January 21, 2009

Posted: 2:58 am

January 21, 2009

Rex Ryan's football education began as a ballboy watching his dad's defenses and continued through stops as an assistant coach in places like Richmond, Ky., and Las Vegas, N.M., before reaching the NFL.

REDDING PUSHED FOR NEW YORK JOB

Today, Ryan's football career takes its next stop when the 46-year-old is introduced as the new head coach of the JetsNew York Jets t.gif.

This morning's press conference is a bit anti-climactic, with his hiring being a near certainty for the last week.

Ryan has spent the last two days familiarizing himself with the Jets and formulating his plans for the future. Today will be the Jets' fans first true taste of Ryan, though. Those who have worked with and played for Ryan say expect a brash, enthusiastic coach who talks nothing like his predecessor, Eric Mangini.

He is a big man, who has a presence when he walks into the room. His players in Baltimore swear by him because of his honesty. One of his core philosophies is "players don't care what you know until they know that you care."

But don't label Ryan a soft players' coach. He is a football man who likes aggressive players. One of his other favorite sayings is, "It's not your position, it's your disposition."

When Ryan takes the podium at 10 a.m. alongside Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum, the trio will face many questions. Here are five issues that need to be addressed today:

WHAT IS THE PLAN WITH BRETT FAVRE?

The 39-year-old quarterback is still in limbo, which is the team's most pressing concern. They need to get an answer from Favre in the next three weeks or their offseason plans will be stalled. Johnson and Tannenbaum have professed their desire for Favre to come back. Sources have said Ryan will have a say in Favre's future.

If he doesn't come back, the Jets likely will turn to Brett Ratliff or try to sign a veteran free agent like Jeff Garcia or Kerry Collins.

WHY WILL RYAN MAKE A GOOD HEAD COACH?

This would seem like an obvious question, but many good assistant coaches have failed when they moved to the big office. Just look at Mangini.

An NFL head coach is an executive these days. They make decisions on more things than Xs and Os. Ryan and the Jets' leadership can't just point to the Ravens' defensive statistics when explaining why he is the man to lead this franchise.

WHY WERE FIRST-TIME COACHES THE TARGET OF THE SEARCH?

When Johnson and Tannenbaum announced Mangini's firing, they said they would look "under every rock" for their next coach. But they showed early on they preferred to hire a first-time head coach rather than someone with experience. A brief flirtation with Bill Cowher is about as serious as they got with veteran coaches. Mike Shanahan, Marty Schottenheimer and Brian Billick were all passed over by the team.

There are many people around the league who feel Tannenbaum did not want a coach who would challenge his authority over personnel decisions. He'll have to answer this today.

DO THE JETS HAVE THE RIGHT PERSONNEL IN PLACE?

One of the reasons the Jets liked Ryan is his background with the 3-4 defense. Mangini spent his first two years tailoring the Jets' personnel to fit that system.

Ryan benefited from having great players in Baltimore - like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Do the Jets have the playmakers to let him do what he wants on defense? He also must figure out a way to fix first-round pick Vernon Gholston and make him a productive player.

WILL BRIAN SCHOTTENHEIMER BE BACK?

Ryan would like Schottenheimer to stay as offensive coordinator, and so would the Jets. The question is how upset is Schottenheimer about getting passed over for the head-coaching job. If he doesn't come back, offensive line coach Bill Callahan and Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson are the leading candidates to replace

We have to hope that Favre is done. Him coming back will set the offense and this team back another year. I think if he does come back we will win around 6-8 games. If he doesn't it could be worse, but if we get the right qb it could lead us back to the playoffs.

I'm not sure if Rex will be a good head coach. Like the blurp said, he's had success with good players. If Rhodes really can become like Ed Reed that's a step in the right direction.

I think with the success the top teams in the nfl had with rookie coaches explains this one.

To this day it mystifies me why Mangini had to make such abrupt changes in our defensive scheme without the right personnel. It will be nice for the players to have the same basic schemes.

If Schotty Jr. gets offered a head gig he is gone. If not he will probably be back. I don't think that is a good thing though. I just can't figure out for the life of me why Leon didn't get the ball in his hands more. If it was Schotty's decision then I can't see why he should be back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...