From the outside looking in, Jets coach Rex Ryan has endured a humbling year on and off the field. Even he admitted his defense had lost its “swagger” two weeks ago.
In an excellent interview with Bob Glauber of Newsday Wednesday, Ryan insisted that the latest round of foot headlines and jokes haven’t fazed him.
“I can take everything, and I have,” Ryan said. “Everybody questions me. Everybody said things about me or whatever. I don’t care what anybody says.”
We can’t help but think back to Ryan’s first press conference after his wife’s photo was put on the cover of the New York tabloids. He looked understandably uncomfortable, almost shaken. He says that’s out of his mind now.
“You know what? I have a job to do,” he said. “All that is personal. It’s a personal matter. For me, my focus is on winning this football game. That’s my job. That’s what I’m paid to do and that’s what I do.”
Ryan says his confidence hasn’t eroded because of the drama, and we actually believe him. The most embarrassing part of the year probably wasn’t his family’s humiliation, but the 45-3 loss to the Patriots. That was the night the air started leaking from the Jets’ balloon.
“I’m still myself, there’s no question,” Ryan said. “I’m as confident as I’ve ever been. I can’t wait to coach, and I think I’m the same person, the same confidence, the same everything.”