Jets' Seth Ryan gets emotional talking about returning to the team his dad coached

When the New York Jets were going through their messy assistant coach hiring process early in the offseason, it was easy to feel discouraged. After all, the Jets were practically reshuffling their entire staff, and it's not like they were a desirable destination.

After the dust settled, though, it turned out the Jets made a few exciting hires. Defensive line coach Karl Dunbar is one of the best in the business, Frank Reich is an experienced offensive coach, and perhaps the most heartwarming was hiring Seth Ryan, New York's new pass game coordinator.

Ryan, the son of former Jets head coach Rex Ryan and grandson of former Jets defensive line coach Buddy Ryan, is the third generation of his family to coach Gang Green.

The gravity of that isn't lost on Ryan, and he spoke candidly about it with reporters at the Jets facility on Wednesday.

Seth Ryan talks about his family's Jets' coaching lineage

For the first time since being hired, Ryan took questions from reporters, and of course, they were going to ask him what it's like being back in Florham Park.

"I grew up here... This means a lot to our family, and in my family, we have kind of a saying with all coaches. My grandfather told my dad, 'I need you to be a little bit better than me.' My dad told me, 'I need you to be better than me.' So I chose offense to make sure that was going to happen."

Seth Ryan

Ryan was a ball boy for the Jets when his dad, Rex, was head coach from 2009 to 2014. It's poetic to see that he's back now, but this time on the sidelines as a coach.

"I mean, it's all I know. I grew up in it with my dad; he grew up with my grandfather. It's all I've ever known, so this is normal for us and so I'm glad that I can still be representing the Ryan family in the NFL."

Seth Ryan

The Jets' new pass game coordinator declined to make any guarantees, unlike his father did when he first landed in New York, but there's still plenty of reason to be excited.

Similar to last year's offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, Ryan cut his teeth under Ben Johnson as an assistant offensive coach.

Hopefully, he can bring some of that offensive creativity with him to to the Jets.

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