Rex Ryan is back in Florham Park, perhaps looking to rub off some positive juju on his former team.
Ryan remains the last New York Jets head coach to lead the team to the playoffs, doing so in 2010. On Tuesday, at the Jets’ first practice of mandatory minicamp, Ryan was spotted watching practice in Jets gear.
Ryan, currently an analyst for ESPN, interviewed with the Jets for their head coaching vacancy in January 2025. He went as far as to say that he would “100%” get the job, even taking a shot at rival candidate Ben Johnson, who did not take an interview with the Jets and was ultimately hired by the Chicago Bears.
The Jets ended up hiring Aaron Glenn, who went 3-14 in his debut season. Despite one-and-done chatter, Glenn survived for a second season in New York, and he was even given the freedom to revamp nearly his entire coaching staff.
Glenn will also take over defensive play-calling duties for the Jets, an experience that Ryan is familiar with. Formerly the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator, Ryan called defensive plays as the Jets’ head coach, while delegating control of the offense to various offensive coordinators.
Glenn will be taking the same approach this year, with offensive coordinator Frank Reich leading the offense. It’s a change-up from his debut season, when Glenn took on more of a “CEO” role, with Steve Wilks calling the defensive plays.
Perhaps Glenn can take some pointers from Ryan on how to make this model work—and what the potential pitfalls may be. Ryan saw the highest of highs and lowest of lows during his time as the Jets’ coach, going from back-to-back AFC championship appearances to four straight non-playoff seasons, bottoming out at 4-12 in 2014.
If anyone can understand the situation Glenn finds himself in, it’s Ryan.
