At the end of an 8-8 season, Jets coach Rex Ryan isn’t backing down.
Despite guaranteeing a Super Bowl and not even making the playoffs, Ryan insisted following Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins that his brash talk is the mark of a winner, and that a coach who lacks his confidence is a coach who can’t win in the NFL.
“I’m always going to chase a Super Bowl,” Ryan said. “I know I get criticized for it beyond belief. But if you don’t, then you’re probably a loser. I’m not a loser.”
What Ryan doesn’t seem to realize, however, is that what he gets “criticized beyond belief” for isn’t chasing a Super Bowl. It’s publicly proclaiming that his team is going to a Super Bowl, and then failing to back that proclamation up on the field.
But Ryan isn’t going to change.
“If people don’t have the guts or courage to put it out there, then so be it,” he added. “That’s on them. I will always chase the Super Bowl. I believe we’ll win the Super Bowl and I’ll believe it for the next 15 years. . . . I’ll find a way to make this team better.”
So it sounds like Ryan is getting an early start on promising a title run in 2012.