Jets General Manager John Idzik says coach Rex Ryan did the right thing by taking some time off to see his son last weekend.
Ryan, whose son is a Clemson walk-on receiver, has taken some heat for attending the game rather than working at the team facility on Saturday, when the Jets’ 53-man roster cuts were made. Although Idzik was initially silent on the matter, he has now said twice, once in an interview on the team’s website and once on Mike & Mike, that he doesn’t agree with members of the media who have criticized Ryan.
“That was surely overblown,” Idzik said on Mike & Mike. “I have a son playing. That time is special. . . . It doesn’t last and you’ve got to take advantage of family time whenever you get it.”
Idzik said he and Ryan had already discussed everything they needed to discuss to evaluate their 53-man roster before Ryan left the facility, and Idzik is glad that Ryan could be there.
“For him to get a chance to see his son in his first collegiate game, I think, was really special,” he said. “It was a Saturday night game, we did most of our work Friday night and Saturday, and he stayed in touch with us. So it was commendable that Rex was able to do it.”
Jets owner Woody Johnson has offered similar support for Ryan. So no matter how many people in New York don’t like it, Ryan was on solid footing with his bosses when he ducked out of work early on Saturday.