Jets coach Rex Ryan has said that one of the reasons he wanted his team profiled on HBO’s Hard Knocks is that he thought an inside view of his training camp would make his team attractive to potential free agents.
One recent poll indicates that it worked.
Sports Illustrated this week released the results of a poll asking NFL players, “For which other coach would you most like to play?” Ryan was the clear winner, with 21 percent of the vote.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin came in second, with 12 percent. Saints coach Sean Payton was next at 9 percent, followed by Titans coach Jeff Fisher at 8 percent and Patriots coach Bill Belichick at 7 percent.
A couple of other interesting results: Wade Phillips, who was fired as Cowboys coach this month, finished 10th with 3 percent of the vote. And Tony Dungy was among the vote-getters, even though he hasn’t coached since 2008.