Rex Ryan has been fighting and coaching for his job from the moment the Jets hired John Idzik as their new GM.
Ryan has done a formidable job to this point, leading the overachieving Jets to a 5-6 record with five games to go. According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Ryan and the Jets must finish up strong for the head coach to not get the ax.
Ryan’s future with the Jets beyond this season remains up in the air despite transforming a team not expected to be a part of the playoff conversation with five weeks left in the regular season. Although Ryan often exaggerates the point by citing one ESPN Week 1 power ranking (comprised, by the way, of a grand total of six voters), there’s no debating that the 5-6 Jets have overachieved entering Sunday’s critical game against the 5-6 Dolphins.
Ryan absolutely deserves to be back next season to continue the rebuilding phase, but much of the focus this month will center on what it will take for him to salvage his job. The Jets remain in the playoff hunt, but a postseason berth shouldn’t be a prerequisite for Ryan to stick around.
Let’s be real: He deserves Coach of the Year consideration if a team with a rookie quarterback, subpar offensive skill-position players and seven new defensive starters (not to mention a coaching staff that underwent a massive overhaul) wins eight games.
The Jets are in the middle of a six team logjam for the final wildcard spot. he Jets are tied with the Dolphins, Titans and Chargers, but don’t hold tiebreakers over Baltimore or Tennessee.