Why the New York Jets Got it Right with Rex Ryan

May 22, 2013; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan (left) and general manager John Idzik (right) during the New York Jets organized team activities at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

As a New York Jets’ fan for going on thirty years, there have been very few times that I could say that the Jets got it right, under any circumstances. You could probably count the times on one hand, if you want to tell the truth. Time after time, through the years, with coaches, draft picks, and everything else, the Jets have left us scratching their heads.

Not this time. It clearly is a new era, thanks to John Idzik. We can now officially add to the very small list of times the Jets have gotten it right. The Jets nailed it here with Rex Ryan, and we will talk about why.

Rex Ryan wants to be the coach of the New York Jets. It’s the only thing he wants in this world. Well, the other thing he wants is to bring the Jets a Super Bowl. It sounds like an insignificant thought, but it really isn’t. Remember when Herm Edwards was promising us, up and down, that he was staying, all the while making a deal with the Chiefs? That will never happen with Rex Ryan.

Rex will put all of his passions into making this team the team that we want it to be. He was a Jets fan, he knows how we are. He will get it done.

The players love him. Did you see that video when they learned that Rex was coming back? I have never seen player celebrate together like that over a coach. It says a great deal. A celebration like that is very telling, to see players rally around a coach. They will walk through a wall for him, some of them have even said so. Following the week seventeen game, Sheldon Richardson said he would give Rex both of his arms if he asked.

It tells us that he is the RIGHT man for THIS group of football players.

Look at the team performance in 2013. Rex Ryan got a lot out of these guys. Some of the “experts” have said that 2013 was Rex Ryan’s best coaching job. He got 8-8 out of a team that really could have finished with four wins. With several brand new starters, and a rookie quarterback, the Jets were right in the middle of the pack, and Rex Ryan deserves a whole bunch of credit for that. Nobody would have gotten more out of this team.

The contract, by the way, is not “window dressing” as it has been put. It is the perfect compromise on both sides.

Adding guaranteed years to the contract was fair. Rex earned it last year. He deserved to not go through the next year without having to answer the same questions as he had to do this year. 8-8 with THIS team earned him that much. He deserves the time to get his program going, and see where it can go, with this new, younger core of players.

The non-guaranteed years, with emphasis on playoff victories, is perfect for both sides. As long as Rex keeps the team moving in the direction that we all want, he will make his money and stay on as the coach. If he doesn’t, the Jets can get out of the deal without being on the hook to Rex for a bunch of money.

All around, good work yesterday by the Jets. What a nice change!