A day after losing the AFC Championship Game, the New York Jets are losing five assistant coaches.
Three coaches -- assistant quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, special-teams coach Kevin O’Dea and defensive quality control coach Brian Smith -- had their contracts expire and won’t get them renewed. Assistant defensive backs coach Doug Plank was fired. And pass-rushing consultant Chuck Smith left to become defensive line coach at the University of Tennessee.
Jets coach Rex Ryan said it’s just part of the business.
“We’re going to have, unfortunately the way everything is, there’s some guys on our staff that their contracts won’t be extended,” Ryan said. “They ran out, and some contracts will not be extended, and that’s unfortunate because some guys did a great job. I’d really rather not get into the particulars of things right now.”
Plank has a long history with Ryan. When Plank was a defensive back for the Chicago Bears, Rex’s father Buddy Ryan named the 46 defense after Plank’s jersey number.