Rex Ryan is one of a few Jets head coaching candidates who have completed their interviews with the team, and Keith McPherson fielded calls from fans who wanted a reunion with the former Gang Green head coach.
Keith doesn’t see Ryan as a promising candidate, regardless of what he accomplished with New York in the past.
“You guys want Rex Ryan to coach the Jets after eight years and go up against Mike Vrabel this year? Okay,” Keith said, predicting that another Gang Green candidate in Vrabel will wind up with division rival New England. “Rex is a last resort...if they go through another 2-3 interviews, I think they’ll fall back on Rex Ryan because he’s so desperate for the job.
“Nobody else is interviewing Rex Ryan. You gotta think about that. Nobody else wants Rex? Nobody is looking for him as a head coach but the Jets. Is that what you really want? It’s been seven years. The league has changed. All that rah rah stuff will wear off if the team isn’t responding to Rex and his early 2000s ways.”
Keith doesn’t see Ryan as adapting to the current NFL, as he hasn’t coached in the league in nearly a decade, and fans just seem to be romanticizing the past and ignoring how much has changed since Ryan last roamed the sidelines.
“If it’s Rex Ryan, who is his offensive coordinator? Because the old ground and pound, that’s not gonna get it done,” Keith said. “You think Rodgers is going to want to play under Rex? Who is his quarterback and who is his offensive coordinator? Call me up and tell me who Rex is connected with in this modern NFL, where you need to be innovative.”