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For months now, former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan thought he was a shoo-in to be hired as the team’s next head coach. Why? Because he unabashedly believed he was the best man for the job.
Despite that famed bravado, however, it appears Rex Ryan is not only not going to be the next head coach of the Jets, but he’s the first name to be eliminated from the search.
“The reason I think I’m going to get it is because I’m the best guy for it. It ain’t close,” Ryan said in the lead up to his interview with the team last week. “The thing you have to do is, you have to connect with your football team, you have to connect with your fan base. The way they play, that’s the most important thing.
Over the weekend, plugged-in Jets reporter Connor Hughes of SNY said Ryan is “completely out” of the running to be hired as the next HC of the NYJ.
“Rex Ryan I heard is completely out, that is not gonna happen with the Jets,” Hughes said on famed New York sports radio station WFAN.
During his six seasons as the Jets’ head coach from 2009 to 2014, Ryan posted a record of 46-50 and took the franchise to two consecutive AFC championship games in 2009 and 2010, the latter of which being the last playoff game that the Jets have played in.
Ryan also served as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2014 to 2016, bringing his record as a head coach of 61-66. Prior to being hired by the Jets, Ryan was the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, who were one of the most dominant defensive units in the league during his time with the team.