Last year, Jets head coach Rex Ryan delegated the defensive play calling to defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. This year, Pettine is gone and Ryan is taking the play calling back for himself.
Ryan told the New York Daily News that new defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman will have input, but Ryan will make the calls.
“Dennis and I worked side-by-side with each other literally for years now,” Ryan said. “It’s something that we talked about and we want to do. I want Dennis to just be totally involved like he always is, but I’ll make the calls [and have] the final say on the calls. But again, the process will be very similar.”
Although Ryan is out of the business of guaranteeing Super Bowls, he’s still willing to guarantee that the Jets will have a strong defense.
“One thing I know for sure about this football team — since I’ve been here and as long as I’ll ever be here — is we will be one of the premier defenses in the league,” Ryan said. “The Jet way is playing great defense.”
If the Jets have a great defense, Ryan will get the lion’s share of the credit. If not, he’ll get the blame.