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.
