Does Rebuild Mean the End of Rex Ryan with the New York Jets?

Feb 21, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Jets coach Rex Ryan speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The opening of free agency has been the dawn of a new day with the New York Jets. The Jets have not jumped the gun to over pay for anyone, despite the fact that they are losing players left and right, or at least it feels that way. Our buddy Joe Caporoso from “Turn on the Jets” put it best when he wrote that the Jets are showing “Patience with a Purpose“.

Anyone who wants to tell us, I’m talking to you Francesa, that Rex Ryan is running the show, is not paying attention.  If Rex was making all of the calls, would he be losing players left and right?  I think not.

What is going on is a rebuilding process with the Jets, ladies and gentlemen.  Not a rush to put together a stop-gap team to make a playoff run.  They are setting up to build for the future, and have sustainable success.  TJ Rosenthal from “Turn on the Jets” entertained a must-read topic about whether or not Jets fans can accept the pains of rebuilding.

I want to take that, and go a slightly different direction, and talk about the head coach.

Jets fans, in my opinion, can definitely handle the idea of rebuilding.  I am for it, and I think I speak for other fans when I say I am tired of the team being a one-hit wonder, making a run one year, or two in the case of Rex’s teams, and then falling back to the back.  We are jealous of teams that draft well every year, and have a chance every season.

What I want to talk about today is Rex Ryan.  Woody Johnson gave Rex new life, when he insisted that the new general manager keep the coach on for a year.  It really wasn’t a surprise at the time, as we know how much faith Woody Johnson has in Rex Ryan.  He wouldn’t have even considered keeping him and firing Tannenbaum if he didn’t have that kind of faith.

Feb 21, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Jets general manager John Idzik speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Now, fast forward to today.  John Izdik is here, he is working with Rex Ryan, and everyone is putting on a happy face.

But look at the philosophy.  We all are under the assumption that Rex Ryan is in a “lame-duck” season.  It’s hard to imagine that Woody will compel Idzik to keep Rex around for a second season.  That will almost definitely be up to John.  So, Rex has to show that he is worthy of the job going forward, otherwise he will be out the door.

Rebuilding is absolutely the right way to for the New York Jets.  I know that as a fan, I crave a program where we know that our team is a contender every year.  I am sure I speak for just about everyone reading this article when I say that.

That being said, rebuilding is not the way a coach is going to show what he has in one season.  Giving the coach one more chance, but giving him a roster that is “gutted”, doesn’t seem to me, the way to give him the best chance to keep his job in the years moving ahead.  So it makes you wonder, why keep him around if you are not going to give him a chance?

Does rebuilding mean Rex Ryan is out the door in a year? I think that it does.

The coach, by all accounts, has one year to prove his worth to John Idzik, or be out of a job at the end of 2013. We can all agree that if he repeats a 6-10, or gets worse, he will be gone. So, it is in Rex’s best interest to win now. How can he be expected to do that with a roster that basically is “gutted” for the process of rebuilding. It’s right for the Jets, but not for Rex.

My point is that if they are going to rebuild, that’s fine. But this will guarantee that the coach is out the door at the end of the year. Why make him go throught it?

Why not just rebuild with a new coach? Wipe the slate clean. They are probably going to do so anyway in one year.