There’s something romantic about an ex taking to the airwaves and decrying that they want back in, isn’t there?
And if they’ve already got the tattoo…
Asked if he’d accept the head coaching job with the Jets during an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “DiPietro & Rothenberg” on Monday, Rex Ryan responded with a resounding “in a second.”
“Because I am a New York Jet,” Ryan, 61, said. “I absolutely would.”
Gang Green’s former head coach quickly qualified that he’s “not here to politic” and then, in true political form, espoused his qualifications for the role — with the Jets sitting at a disappointing 2-6 even with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
“I tell the damn truth. I speak as a fan of this football team and [of] this community,” Ryan said.
“That’s why it makes sense, so we’ll see. I hope I get an opportunity to interview for it.”
His résumé with the Jets speaks for itself. Kind of.
As coach from 2009-14, Ryan led the Jets to a 46-50 record.
Fans will remember the 2009 and ’10 campaigns most fondly — when the Jets went a combined 20-12 and lost in back-to-back AFC Championship games.
They will also remember a foot fetish deemed a “personal issue,” a shaggy wig, and a fumble by quarterback Mark Sanchez that shall not be named. Ryan also has a tattoo of his wife wearing nothing but a No. 6 Sanchez jersey on his right arm.
After amassing a 4-12 record in 2014, Ryan left the Jets for Western New York. In two seasons at the helm in Buffalo, he went 15-16, infamously beating the Jets in 2016 in the final game of the regular season to deny them a playoff berth.
It’s been eight years since he’s coached in the NFL, though Ryan has found many a use for his talents.
Now an analyst with ESPN, he can be found ragging on his woebegone one-time rival New England Patriots or questioning the equally abysmal Jets’ identity.
Jeff Ulbrich is currently the interim coach of the Jets after owner Woody Johnson fired Robert Saleh after five games and the team staggering out of the gate.
Since then, Gang Green has lost to the Bills, Steelers and Patriots with their season spiraling.
Ryan would like the chance to right the franchise.