Jets coach Rex Ryan has always been upfront about the fact that he wants a shutdown cornerback on his defense. Ryan loved coaching Darrelle Revis, and Ryan was at his best as a coach when he had both Revis and Antonio Cromartie.
Now Ryan has neither Revis nor Cromartie. Nor any other top-flight cornerback. And he can’t be happy about that.
Ryan was believed to badly want the Jets to bring Revis back after the Buccaneers cut him, but he didn’t get his wish. Ryan’s Jets were also out-bid for the services of cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who signed with the Giants today.
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, a friend of Ryan said “Rex is pissed” about the team’s failure to land Rodgers-Cromartie or any other top cornerback in free agency.
Ryan is stuck with the defense that Jets G.M. John Idzik gives him. That defense won’t have a cornerback nearly as good as Revis this season, and barring something unforeseen happening it won’t have a cornerback as good as Cromartie, either. It’s easy to see why Ryan wouldn’t be happy about that.