Last month, ESPN analyst Rex Ryan revealed that he expected to talk with the New York Jets about their head coaching vacancy after the season. It now appears the Jets are proceeding with those discussions.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that the New York Jets plan to interview Rex Ryan for their head coaching vacancy on Tuesday.
“Sources: Former #Jets coach Rex Ryan is set to interview with the Jets on Tuesday, an opportunity for Ryan to state his case to his old team,” Rapoport stated in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Ryan, a current ESPN analyst, has publicly stated his desire for the post he once held. He went 46-50 for NYJ with a 4-2 playoff record,” Rapoport added.
Ryan previously coached the Jets from 2009 to 2014, leading the team to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances during his first two seasons.
While mutual interest between Ryan and the Jets is evident, New York has also engaged with other candidates for the position.
The Jets have interviewed former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and former Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera. Additionally, the team plans to interview current interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich this week.
Needless to say, the news of the interview led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“And he has absolutely zero chance of getting the job. We have all seen retreads never work.. also, we are supposed to forget his last 4 seasons as the New York Jets HC Rex had a record of24-40. But he makes himself out to be as if he is the second coming to Vince Lombardi. The New York Jets actually have people on their list that have a Super Bowl ring as a head coach on the résumé and those people deserve serious consideration. The biggest fan of Rex Ryan is Rex Ryan,” one person wrote on X.
“People who want him are overly emotional. He has been out the game for years, this is purely fan fiction to hope for a great return. Leave the past in the past,” someone else wrote.
“Love ya Rex but this playoff skid started with your tenure here. If the Jest go the route of a young OC for a HC then Rex as assistant HC and DC would be cool in my book,” another person added.
“Sometimes you’ve gotta go backwards to go forward,” someone else said.
“The Jets are at ‘hitting up their ex’ levels of down bad,” another person joked.
“Please this would be so funny,” someone else quipped.
Ryan, now an ESPN analyst, has made his eagerness to return to coaching well-known. It remains to be seen whether the Jets will decide to bring Ryan back.
