Jets Begin Ryan Era With High Hopes

 Aaron Houston for The New York Times

Rex Ryan outlines his approach to the Jets' head coaching job while team owner Woody Johnson, center, and the general manager, Mike Tannenbaum, look on.
By GREG BISHOP
Published: January 21, 2009

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — In his first public moments as the Jets’ new head coach, Rex Ryan joked that he should be looking for the president with all the cameras surrounding him. Then he said he and his new team would meet Barack Obama anyway, meaning they would win the Super Bowl while he was in office and be invited to the White House.

Well, that didn’t take long.

The Jets introduced Ryan here on Wednesday at their headquarters. In stark contrast to the Eric Mangini era, Ryan answered questions from the news media for more than two hours. He also indicated that he and the team had already made some decisions.

He announced that he would be bringing Mike Pettine from Baltimore to be his defensive coordinator; that he would retain Mike Westhoff, the special teams coordinator, and Bill Callahan, the assistant head coach in charge of the running game; and that he would welcome a return by quarterback Brett Favre.

He said he had yet to meet with the Jets’ offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, a finalist for the job of head coach, but knew what he was going through, having interviewed unsuccessfully with the Ravens last off-season.

Several Jets players attended the news conference, including Darrelle Revis, whom Ryan called the best cornerback in football, and linebacker David Harris, who limped up the auditorium stairs on crutches.

“I just knew that this was where I wanted to be,” Ryan said.

Of his philosophies, the outspoken Ryan promised to remain an open book. He said he wanted an all-weather offense that started with the running game. He said he wanted his team to be the most physical one in the N.F.L. He promised a drastic change in the style of play on defense, and promised to turn up the heat on opposing teams.

“If you take a swipe at one of ours, we’ll take two swipes at one of yours,” he said.

In regard to Favre, who has spoken of the Jets in the past tense since the season ended, Ryan said any coach would want him to return. Asked about the nine interceptions he threw in the Jets’ final five games, Ryan said he had not seen the tape.

“My respect for Brett Favre is great,” he said. “That comes from first-hand info.”

Ryan fielded several questions about his defense in Baltimore, specifically about how much of the Ravens’ success was because of the players and how much was because of the system. He noted that Ed Reed was not the freelancing safety everyone describes him as, but rather a talented player who excells within the confines of a system.

After Ryan finished speaking, several Jets said they wanted to put the pads on and run onto the snow-filled fields just outside the auditorium.

“He’s a guy you want to play for,” receiver Chansi Stuckey said.

Said receiver Jerricho Cotchery, “I liked him from the first words that came out of his mouth.”

Watching from the front row was Tony Siragusa, the television analyst who played for Ryan in Baltimore and lives a half-mile from the Jets’ facility. He said Ryan listed goals right from the beginning, high goals, like becoming a defense people talk about 100 years from now. At first, even Siragusa struggled to believe him.

Eventually, he did.

“Rex will do the same thing here,” he said.

Westhoff had a conversation with Ryan shortly after he was hired. He came away impressed by the philosophy, which he described as simple teaching methods with complex schemes.

“He’s just a ball coach,” Westhoff said. “That’s what he’s done. That’s who he is.”