There’s an oft-repeated saying, widely credited to former Jets (and Giants, Pats and Cowboys) coach Bill Parcells that “you are what your record says you are.” For the record, Parcells’s record says he was very good at his job -- good enough to gain entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame a year ago.
It may well be too soon to say for sure whether Rex Ryan will end up in Canton one day, but if so, his soon-to-be second act better be way better than his first. Ryan said the other day that he envisions winning the Super Bowl as a head coach in the future, and that he doesn’t see himself as a three-win coach. Well, a win against the Dolphins in Miami on Sunday would make Rex a four-win coach, at least in his final season with the Jets. But if you look at his six-year run with Gang Green, Ryan will end his time here just a few games shy of the .500 mark.
So Ryan’s record says he was slightly more likely to lose than to win as HC of the NYJ, which suggests he’s at the low end of the mediocrity tier. Is that accurate though? Is there more to his record than meets the eye? There’s the fact that he lasted six years in one spot, which is nearly twice as long as the average NFL head coach’s tenure. Additionally, Ryan’s teams reached two consecutive conference championship games, a claim only a small minority of coaches can match. Then again, Rex lasted four straight years without a postseason appearance, when many other coaches have been let go after falling short of the money for only two or three years.
Ultimately, I would argue that a coach should be measured on how much he gets out of the talent at his disposal, which in Ryan’s case was mostly amassed by the general manager who hired him --Mike Tannebaum -- and the one who may well fire him on Monday, if he’s not shown the door as well: John Idzik.
How did Rex fare if you evaluate it that way? He came to the job with a reputation as a defensive guru, and on that side of the ball, his teams always ranked near the top of the league in yards allowed, but, except for his first two years, finished much closer to the bottom in terms of points allowed. So that really clears things up, right?
On offense, Ryan had the good fortune of inheriting two anchors on the offensive line, center Nick Mangold and tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, but, in a quarterback’s league, Mark Sanchez started 62 games during Rex’s tenure, while Geno Smith was at the helm for 28, with Michael Vick, Kellen Clemens and Greg McElroy combining for the remaining 5 starts.
If there are seven dog years in each calendar year, how many are there for each season Ryan survived with that bunch under center? Winning a Super Bowl somewhere else? In football years, Rex is already 112.
