In his Monday Morning QB article, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King tells the story of how Mark Sanchez ended up a Jet:
[Rex] Ryan tells an interesting story in the book about pursuing a franchise quarterback once he got the Jets job. The choice came down to USC’s Mark Sanchez and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman. “We sent both of them a mini-playbook and asked them to learn what they could from it before they met with us,” Ryan told me. “They both blew the doors off us when we got them in a room. We’d ask about out formations and bam-bam-bam, they knew it all quick. Both very, very sharp guys.”
But in telling the story in the book, Ryan says one of the factors that swayed the Jets was how Sanchez was regarded by his peers. He said 24 high school and college mates showed up to catch balls for Sanchez. When they’d been to Kansas State to work out Freeman, two of his receivers showed up. “Honestly,” Ryan told me, “that might have been what separated them — the immense respect we sensed from the people who played with Mark and knew him so well.”
So it was the team building that Rex Ryan talked about for three and a half hours in his interview with the Jets that landed him the coaching job. And it was the respect that Mark Sanchez had from his peers that resulted in the Jets trading up to the No. 5 overall pick in the 2009 draft to select him. It’s clear the Jets had, and have, a plan.
Also worth noting from King’s article:
In the book, Ryan says one of the reasons he thinks he didn’t get the Ravens coaching job when Brian Billick was fired after the 2007 season is because Ryan told owner Steve Bisciotti that Billick had lost the team. Ryan says in the book he thought that was a disloyal act. He says many nice things about the Ravens in the book, and has said many of them to me over the years too. But he also said to me Friday: “Coaching in Baltimore 10 years and then not getting the job, that’s a thing that drives me. As much as I respect the people in the Ravens’ organization, they never thought I could do the job, and that’s a major chip on my shoulder.”
Last week, Rex Ryan received the Horrigan Award, a yearly award given by the Pro Football Writers of America that honors a non player who most helped the media do its job.
It’s really no surprise. Ryan’s colorful, always has plenty to say, and his team happens to win. He also feels right at home with the media. The book tour is a perfect example. Ryan did one interview after another last week (21 on Wednesday alone), appearing on shows ranging from “The Colbert Report” to Fox News’ “Hannity.” I brought you some of those appearances in earlier posts (there were plenty more), and though yesterday I said I’d return to football, I have to mention a few observations.
Ryan comes off as extremely likeable in every one of the interviews I watched. Unless you’re a Patriots or Giants fan, it’s hard not to like him.
I love his thoughts on team building. Ryan demands that when players give interviews, they mention at least two players and one coach (in the playoffs it’s four teammates, one coach, and someone else in the organization), saying, “I know when somebody says something good about you, whether you’re a player or a coach or whatever, you feel like King Kong. You’re on top of the world.” If you listen to the interview on Fox Business, you’ll understand that this is why Woody Johnson hired him to coach the Jets.
I didn’t know Sean Hannity was a Jets fan. I certainly knew he wasn’t a fan of President Obama. When he asked Ryan if he voted for Obama, it was the first time Rex didn’t have anything to say.
Here’s Rex Ryan with Jets’ owner Woody Johnson on the Fox Business Network on Wednesday:
And here’s Rex with Sean Hannity on the Fox News Channel last night:
According to ESPN New York’s Jane McManus, Ryan gave 21 interviews on Wednesday alone. Sure, he’s promoting his book. But as I said before, he’s also promoting the New York Jets.
Currently, “Play Like You Mean It,” released last Tuesday, is No. 101 on Amazon’s list of top selling books. (This basically changes by the minute as I just found out.)
On Wednesday, Ryan taped an episode of YES Network’s ”CenterStage” with host Michael Kay. The show will debut on May 13 at 11 p.m.
ESPN New York’s Jane McManus has highlights of the interview here.
Here are just a few:
When the Jets were looking for a head coach and Ryan was a candidate, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and head of PR Bruce Speight decided that, in order to do their homework on Ryan, each Jet department head would call their counterpart at the Ravens to find out more — from the video department to the grounds crew. ”The reason I got the job is there wasn’t one negative comment, and I spent 10 years there,” Ryan said.
In another shot at the Giants, when talking about his Super Bowl ring as defensive coordinator with the Ravens, Ryan kept up the squabble about who runs New York. “I never realized I won that ring according to Justin Tuck,” Ryan said.
Can he imagine any other current NFL coach writing a book and promoting it? Say, Belichick? “You know he’s not going to do these,” Ryan said. “His book would be short though.”
Jets head coach Rex Ryan appeared today on “The Michael Kay Show” on 1050 ESPN Radio. Ryan was in studio to promote his new book, “Play Like You Mean It,” and to talk Jets football.
The Jets were busy today, adding four solid draft picks to an already impressive roster. Here’s a recap of who Gang Green selected on the third and final day of the NFL Draft.
4th round: Bilal Powell, RB, Louisville:
The Jets have a crowded backfield as Powell will join LaDanian Tomlinson, Shonn Greene, and Joe McKnight. If he doesn’t get the carries - and a lot will depend on how Tomlinson does and what New York’s plans are for him - then Powell may be able to have an impact on special teams.
5th round: Jeremy Kerley, WR, Texas Christian:
The Jets traded up eight spots in the fifth round to get Kerley, so they obviously like him. Kerley is 5-9, 188 pounds. He returned punts and kickoffs at TCU and this may be where the Jets are primarily looking to use him.
7th round: Greg McElroy, QB, Alabama:
Eventually, McElroy could be the Jets No. 2, behind Mark Sanchez. This season, he’ll probably take over as the No. 3, so Kellen Clemens, Kevin O’Connor, and Eric Ainge are all on alert. McElroy won 24 games as a starter at one of the top programs in college football. In other words, the kid’s a winner. He won’t replace Sanchez, but he’s smart and accurate. Certainly worth a seventh round pick.
7th round: Scotty McKnight, WR, Colorado:
Good friends with Sanchez. They’ve known each other since they were eight years old and the Jets’ signal caller served as his QB at Pro Day. He’s Colorado’s all-time leading receiver who may play a role on special teams. Of course, don’t discount the chemistry he has with Sanchez.
In his new book, “Play Like You Mean It,” which will be released this Tuesday, Rex Ryan does what he does best. He talks. A lot. Not just about Darrelle Revis and Kerry Rhodes and the Patriots, but about the team the Jets share a stadium with.
“When people ask me what it’s like to share New York with the Giants, my response is always I am not sharing it with them – they are sharing it with me. Some people like to say the Giants are the big brother team and the Jets are the little brother team. I know it’s going to (tick) off every Giants fan to hear this, but here you go: I really don’t care. We came to New York City to be the best team in the NFL, not just the best team in New York City. And I have news for you: We are the better team. We’re the big brother….It seems clear that right now we are the better team and we are going to remain the better team for the next 10 years. Whether you like it or not, those are the facts and that’s what is going to happen.”
The Jets and Giants meet for real on Christmas Eve. Should be fun.
