Rex Ryan, John Idzik ‘highly unlikely’ to be fired during season
The New York Jets have been right there with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, and Tennessee Titans as one of the worst teams in the NFL, and their disappointing start to the season has been filled with controversy at the quarterback position, as Geno Smith has caught plenty of heat for being late to a team meeting last week. Smith was benched, and Michael Vick quickly drew the ire of fans for mailing in scout team reps and being unprepared to make a relief appearance.
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It’s another circus show for the Jets, and, as always, the blame falls on Rex Ryan, simply because he is the most vocal person and one of the only people in a leadership position who actually acts like a leader. According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, it’s “highly unlikely” for either Rex Ryan or John Idzik to be fired during the regular season, as Jets owner Woody Johnson is expected to wait until after the season.
Honestly, it’s a miracle of Ryan’s coaching that the Jets were able to go 8-8 last year (look, this is a rebuilding team), because they were starting an overwhelmed rookie QB who had no weapons and was busy throwing picks, and they also fielded one of the league’s worst pass defenses. Literally nothing has changed this year, aside from the fact that Smith has better weapons. But Chris Johnson has been a dud, and Eric Decker and Jace Amaro have been the only real “hits” on offense thus far. Once again, John Idzik has nailed the draft, but his failings in free agency have been unmasked; he did a great job of upgrading the team’s cornerbacks.
If you fire Ryan, you have to fire Idzik. If you fire Idzik, you have to fire Ryan, because, as we’ve seen so far, it doesn’t work well when you force a head coach to work with a GM, especially when said GM can’t build a legit working relationship. I think both parties could be gone, which is a shame since Ryan is a terrific coach. That said, he’s better off going somewhere where he’ll actually be appreciated, and hopefully he can get a better QB (and, if you don’t like Marty Mornhinweg and believe he’s at fault for Geno’s lack of progress, a better OC to help the brilliant defensive mind and motivator out).