Rex Ryan:”…the Standard We’ve Set as the New York Jets will Not be Diminished”

March 19, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan answers questions from reporters during the annual NFL meetings at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

There has been no bigger supporter of Darrelle Revis than Jets coach Rex Ryan. Through the years, through contract disputes, holdouts, injuries, interceptions, and all out great performances, Rex has been in his corner. As well he should be. Rex Ryan does not work on the business end of the organization, he works on the football end of the organization. The football play has always been wonderful, so the player/coach relationship had no reason to be strained.

We also knew that one person that would never have wanted to lose Darrelle Revis is Rex Ryan. At one point, Rex was quoted as saying that he would only trade Darrelle away if he could get Jim Brown back in return. So, I know I was very curious to hear what Rex had to say about the trade, after it was made. There was a conference call last night with John Idzik, Woody Johnson, and Rex Ryan. Here is what Rex had to say:

Well, no, I can tell you this: It doesn’t come as a surprise. This has been talked about, as John has said. We’ve been discussing the possibilities of a trade with Darrelle, and I was involved in the entire process. And again, you look at the big picture as we’ve talked about short‑term and long‑term. I think this, as in all good trades, will benefit both teams. Darrelle Revis was an outstanding player for us, for myself since I’ve been here as a head coach. He was tremendous. And as John talked about earlier, he gave everything he had to this organization, was a tremendous player. You go back, I don’t take back one word that I’ve ever said about Darrelle Revis. I believe that he is the best corner in football without question. But make no mistake; as I mentioned the day I took the job five years ago, that we will play great defense, and the standard we’ve set as the New York Jets will not be diminished. We believe that we will have an outstanding defense this year and in the future, as well.

When asked about how the trade helps in the short/long term, Rex hedged a little bit:

Well, again, I think there’s a lot of ifs on a lot of fronts there. Why don’t we get through the draft and then we’ll see how everything starts going into place. A lot of decisions are made. As I mentioned before, we will play great defense here. I don’t think that’s even a question. We’re a football team that has a No. 1 corner. We’re fortunate to have Antonio Cromartie here. So there (are) a lot of factors that go into every decision, as we’ve mentioned, but again, when you look at the process and the things that John talked about before, that’s why the trade was made.

Rex will always be confident about how this team is going to play defense, as well he should. You can say a lot about Rex Ryan, but the man knows how to coach defense. I think he isn’t thrilled about it, judging by the second quote. Does he see writing on the wall about how the team is being set up for him? Possibly. It’s interesting that he can’t really talk about the benefits yet.