As he closed his first press conference of 2013, Jets coach Rex Ryan was asked about his infamous tattoo -- the one that shows his wife wearing a Mark Sanchez jersey. And he answered with a joke.
“Obviously, if Sanchez doesn’t play better, that number’s changing. That’s a given,” Ryan said.
At least, I think that’s supposed to be a joke. What is clear -- as Ryan said -- is that Sanchez will have to compete this offseason to keep his starting quarterback job. And although it’s too soon to say who he’ll be competing with, the most likely result is that the new general manager will bring in another quarterback, and that Tim Tebow will be jettisoned.
Despite talk that Ryan’s tattoo -- which was just spotted by a tabloid photographer last week -- showed his wife “Tebowing,” Ryan said he actually got the tattoo long before Tebow came to the Jets.
“There’s a question, ‘Is that a real tattoo or not?’ I’ll keep you guessing,” he said. “It’s funny, it’s actually a tattoo I’ve had for like three years -- going on three years now. . . . I’ve been married for 25 years, and through my eyes, my wife’s the most beautiful woman in the world. So that’s what it is.”
If only Ryan could find a quarterback to love as much as he loves his wife.