Jets show support for Rex Ryan in player poll

If it was up to the New York Jets players, Rex Ryan will still be standing on the team's sidelines next season — and you can put their names to it.

In an informal poll of players by Mark Cannizzaro of The New York Post,  Gang Green stands behind their head coach despite the missing the playoffs for the second season in a row.

In his "on-and-off-the-record" interviews with nearly half the players on the roster, Cannizzaro concluded that they all believe Rex must stay.

He writes:

While there is a moderate undercurrent among this cross-section of offensive players who harbor some resentment about Ryan’s devotion to his defense, believing the offensive side of the ball is sometimes neglected, we could not find a single player who flat-out wants Ryan to be fired.

To the contrary, some players said they respect Ryan more for the way he has kept the locker room from coming unglued the way it did at the end of last season when the Jets were also faced with playoff elimination.

"I feel like he's handled himself appropriately — with humility," said linebacker Bart Scott.  "Guys haven't packed it in.  You would be able to see if guys have packed it in and they haven't.  Nobody has imploded, nobody has turned on each other.  That's a reflection of the respect everyone has for him."

Ryan — who was voted the most over-rated coach in the NFL earlier in the season — has withstood a constant barrage of issues this season.

In between the well publicized quarterback controversy and missing the playoffs, there was the anonymous bashing of Tim Tebow, injuries to key players and a season defined by the butt-fumble.

The respect that Ryan gets as a "player's coach" seems to be backed up by those polled in the locker room.

"This could be a period of time where guys just quit on him, wanting to start making vacation plans, but it has not been like that at all," said veteran linebacker Bryan Thomas.  "Rex has held this thing together despite the circumstances of the past week and I commend him for that.

"I could not imagine Rex not being here," said Thomas.  "I promise you Rex is great for this team."

Besides the lack of any blue-chip coaches available on the market, Ryan's loyalty in the locker room gives him an upper hand in keeping his job.  His contract runs through 2014 and owner Woody Johnson might have a riot on his own hands if Ryan is given the ax after this season.

"Coach Ryan is well respected in this locker room," said safety Yeremiah Bell.  "Hands down, he's one of my favorite coaches I've played for, because he sees the game from a player's perspective."

"Guys want to play for Rex," added running back Joe McKnight. "He takes care of us, so why wouldn't we want to do it for him?"

The Jets players have spoken and, this time, they put their names to it. Sounds like something Rex Ryan taught them to do.