Today is Black Monday in the NFL and the first coach to get his pink slip was the New York Jets’ Rex Ryan. Team owner Woody Johnson also showed general manager John Idzik the door.
In his announcement, Johnson praised Idzik and Ryan for their contributions to the franchise, but this was the best move for the team’s future. Charley Casserly, the former Washington Redskins GM, and Ron Wolf, a former Green Bay Packers GM, are being brought in to help find new leadership for the team.
“We will consider all options to improve the Jets,” Johnson wrote. “Getting the Jets back on track is my top priority, and today’s decisions are important steps towards achieving our goals.”
While the Jets managed to beat the Miami Dolphins 37-24 in Miami on Sunday, that was just their fourth win all season and was the first time they scored more than 30 points. The team infamously lost eight straight games after winning the season opener against Oakland. Their late-season wins against the Titans and Dolphins made sure that they will not get the top pick in the 2015 draft.
Ryan will end his six-year tenure with the Jets with a 50-52 record, notes The New York Daily News. He did lead the team to two straight AFC Championship games in QB Mark Sanchez’s first two seasons, but the team struggled the past two years.
Ryan will probably find a job elsewhere, either as a defensive coordinator or as head coach. Still, the one blemish on his record has been an inability to develop quarterbacks, made obvious by Geno Smith’s struggles this season.