After six years in charge of the Jets, including back-to-back AFC title game runs in 2009 and 2010, Jets owner Woody Johnson fired Rex Ryan on Monday morning along with general manager John Idzik. The decisions were not surprising, and it'd be hard to find somebody who disagreed with the move.
"Both Rex and John made significant contributions to the team, and they have my appreciation and gratitude for their efforts and commitment," Johnson said in a statement. "Over the years, Rex brought the Jets a bold confidence and a couple of great post-season runs, which all of us will remember ... We will consider all options to improve the Jets. Getting the Jets back on track is my top priority, and today’s decisions are important steps towards achieving our goals."
Although Ryan is one of the best head coaches in the game, he and Idzik did not work well together, and thus, both are gone. Their firings are the right moves for the organization.
That said, here are five things to know about the Ryan firing:
1. Veteran execs take over: Johnson has hired former NFL executives Charlie Casserly and Ron Wolf in order to find the next coach. So, who might that be? According to CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora, Casserly is high on Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. But considering the team went after a successful defensive coordinator when it hired Ryan, Johnson might want to try an offensive coach this time. Here's a big old list of candidates, via La Canfora.
2. Ryan's next move: Although it seems obvious that Ryan could land just about any defensive coordinator job he'd like, Ryan reportedly has no interest in a taking a position like that. Instead, if he can't find a job as a head coach -- and it seems like teams with openings should explore the idea of hiring Ryan -- landing a job as a TV analyst seems like a perfect match. Ryan has a fine personality for TV, and his football knowledge is beyond reproach. Ryan likely will eventually find a head-coaching job, but if it doesn't happen for the 2015 season, Ryan should find a high-profile job anyway.
3. Offensive woes plagued tenure: The biggest problem for Ryan's teams for his most of his entire run in New York was an offense that couldn't score points. Whether it was Mark Sanchez or Michael Vick or Geno Smith running the team as quarterback, the offense never could gain consistent success. Which is a shame for the Jets, because the defense was always good enough to be playoff-worthy and, at times, NFL title-worthy.
4. 2013 delayed the inevitable: While Ryan's 2013 was one of his best coaching performances -- leading one of the weakest NFL rosters to an 8-8 record -- he had little chance of returning even to those mediocre heights this year. Idzik couldn't land him more than one meaningful free agent after last offseason -- that would be receiver Eric Decker -- and the now-fired GM failed to address the lack of cornerback talent. In fact, Darrelle Revis reportedly reached out to the Jets last offseason to return after his 2013 season in Tampa Bay. But Idzik reportedly had no interest, and instead, Revis went to the Patriots, where he had a fine season. Idzik couldn't fire Ryan after his performance in 2013, but he also didn't seem to help Ryan much throughout his two-year tenure as GM.
5. Classy to the end: Say this for Ryan -- and this was repeated often Monday morning from league observers -- he went out the classy way, without public bitterness and with a sense of humor. The Jets beat writers showed how much they appreciated him by awarding him the annual media good guy award, which usually goes to the player who's been most cooperative with reporters.
As for the Jets future ...