New York Jets: Rex Ryan on Competing with the Patriots and Bill Belichick

The Jets finish up their season series with the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon. During the Rex Ryan era, there have been some great highs for the Jets during this rivalry. The AFC playoff game with Santonio Holmes is arguably the highlight of Rex’s coaching tenure. The Jets also topped the Patriots in week 2 of Rex’s first season. And who could forget the speeches? The Jets vs. Patriots rivalry has definitely had some fun moments over the past six seasons.

Yesterday, Rex Ryan was asked to reflect on the highlights for him, of the rivalry between the two teams:

Oh, I don’t know about highlights. It’s probably been more lowlights. That’s a tough team to beat obviously and you’re talking about a guy that will be a first ballot Hall of Fame coach when he gets in there. There’s very few like that, if any. Maybe Tom Coughlin, (as the only other) that’s out there today. So, that’s the biggest guy and you like to go up against the very best and that’s who he is. So, I like that. I like getting that opportunity and things, but obviously haven’t been near successful as I would’ve liked to. The last three times we’ve played them at home, I probably had a chance to win all three of those games, but lost (two) of them. And that’s what great teams do, they find ways to win and he’s done that. And he prepares his team as well as anyone in the league, if not better than any coach in the league. But, I do like competing against him, there’s no question about it. He knows one thing, he’s going to get my very best. That’s for sure.

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Despite the rough season, Rex won’t think about the possibility that this is the last time he will take on the Patriots as the Jets coach:

I am not even thinking about it. I just look forward to the opportunity that we have. One (home) game left. They totally dominated our division. They won our division all six years I have been here. They have been clearly the best team in our division hands down. Like I said, I am looking forward to this one.

It is to his credit that Rex Ryan can stay so focused. We all know he must be thinking about his fate, coming in two weeks. The fact that he can keep the team focused on the task shows that he is a quality coach. Whatever happens, he will get another chance, and I will have part of me pulling for him.