“I will make a statement after the season,” Johnson said Thursday. “I never make any comments regarding contracts during the season.”
Last week's dramatic victory over the Patriots showed that Ryan can still coach but, maybe more noticeable was his back-and-forth with Bill Belichick this week over The Push which showed that Ryan still has the fire in his trimmed-down belly.
“We’re happy with Rex,” Johnson said. “Coaches have to be good teachers and good leaders and I think he’s both.”
The Jets meet the playoff-caliber Bengals and Saints the next two games leading into their bye week, so Johnson will probably have a clear picture where the team is headed by then. But, however successful, there will still be seven games left to self-destruct after that.
Ryan insists he isn't looking that far ahead but appreciates his boss' support after last year's Butt Fumble of a season.
“I like the fact that my boss said some nice things about me,” he said. “I said it before, it’s not about me. Right now, it means nothing to me other than the fact that he had some nice comments to say. My situation is the Cincinnati Bengals. That’s where my attention is.”
Ryan’s contract, at about $3 million per year, runs through 2014. Teams generally don’t let coaches go into the last year of their deals — they either get fired or extended.
Is Johnson anticipating an extension of Ryan's contract?
"I don’t make any statements like that," he said. "The only thing I’ll say is I’m happy with him. I think he’s a great teacher, a good teacher, maybe a great teacher, and a good leader... That's what we hired him to be. We're happy with that."
He has to keep Rex Ryan nobody even knew the Jets existed before Ryan took over in 2009. He is a GREAT coach and in his 5th year he has only had 1 losing season going 6-10. 6-10 was a show of great coaching after losing Revis the best defensive player and Holmes the best offensive players being lost for the year. Then add on all the other injuries to Dustin Keller the O-line Sanchez being Sanchez. Top 8 Defense after losing Revis and never having a double digit pass rusher ever and he still posts 1st 3rd 5th and 8th in total defense in 4 years.
ReplyDeleteThe Jets should be able to go 1-1 vs the Bengals & Saints. But even if they do worst case go 0-2 they have the BYE WEEK. You have 2 weeks to beat the Bills to get you back to 5-5 then the struggling Ravens, Miami, Oakland, Carolina, Cleveland and Mia again. The Jets could be a Wild Card team at 9-7 or 10-6.
Either way Rex will keep his job. The experts said Rex had to get to 7 wins before the season started to ensure he gets to keep his job. Well at 4-3 with only 2 Power House games on the schedule theres no reason Rex doesn't get his extension.
The Owner likes the attention Rex brings to his team.