Jets coach Rex Ryan wants owner Woody Johnson to make one of two decisions after the season ends on Sunday: Either fire him, or give him the power and the money to make the changes within the team that Ryan thinks are necessary.
In a story headlined “Rex Wants Out,” Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that Ryan wants Johnson to authorize and pay for the changes Ryan thinks the team needs to make, particularly on the offensive coaching staff and the offensive personnel.
“If Woody’s not willing to do what it takes to fix the team, then [Ryan] knows he’s better off being fired,” a team source told the Daily News. “If Woody is willing to eat some money and spend to get us out of this mess, then it’s worth staying.”
Ryan apparently wants to fire offensive coordinator Tony Sparano and find a better candidate to replace him, but it’s unclear whether Johnson is willing to spend the money to buy out Sparano’s contract and hire another offensive coordinator. It’s also unclear whether Ryan also wants Johnson to commit to a lot of money to upgrade the quarterback position, either by cutting Mark Sanchez and eating the guaranteed money the team still owes him, or by signing a veteran free agent, or both. But the quarterback position obviously needs to be better than it was this year.
There have been many reports that Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum will either be fired or demoted after the season. Ryan may also want more say in the personnel decisions after that front office shakeup takes place, or at least some say in the hiring of whoever would make the decisions.
From all indications, Ryan does not intend to resign and Johnson does not intend to fire Ryan. So they are probably going to be together for at least another season. But Ryan knows things can’t continue the way they’ve gone this year.