The New York Jets introduced former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan as the team's new head coach on Wednesday.
The hiring comes less than a week after the Ravens lost to Pittsburgh, 23-14, in the AFC Championship Game. He replaces Eric Mangini, who was fired following the season and later became head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
"With all these cameras here, I was expecting the new President to show up,"
said Ryan."That's OK, though, we will hopefully see him a couple of times over the next few years anyway."
The 46-year-old Ryan, who becomes the 17th overall head coach in Jets history, has never been the head coach of a team in college or the pros. He was with the Ravens since 1999 on the defensive side of the ball.
"You're gonna see an attack team here, aggressive on both sides of the ball,"
added Ryan. "The message to the league is clear: Here come the Jets and they will give you everything they got. And that's probably more than you can handle. We want to be known as the most physical team in the league."
Ryan interviewed five hours with the Jets in Baltimore on January 11. He was chosen over a list of candidates that included Russ Grimm, Ron Meeks and Steve Spagnuolo, who has been since named head coach of the St. Louis Rams.
The search concluded after owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum flew to Baltimore to meet with Ryan following Sunday night's game. The three men then came back to North Jersey to complete the negotiating process and iron out a contract.
Over Ryan's last four seasons at Baltimore, the Ravens' defense was ranked no lower than sixth each year. Since 1999, when Ryan first came to Baltimore, the Ravens were ranked first for fewest points allowed (17.1 per game), fewest rushing yards allowed per game (87.3), most shutouts (9), most takeaways (337), most interceptions (212), most interceptions returned for touchdowns (29) and lowest third-down conversion rate allowed (33.9 percent).
"The style of defense we are gonna play is going to be rough on people,"
Ryan added. "Read-and-react defense is not for us, we're gonna attack, to and through the whistle. If you take a swipe at one of our guys we are going to take a swipe at two of yours."
Ryan's brother, Rob, was just named to the Browns' staff as their defensive coordinator. His father, Buddy, also served as a coach on the defensive staff of the Jets' Super Bowl III championship team.
This past season, the Jets (9-7), with Brett Favre at quarterback, lost four of their final five games, spiraling from an opportunity at the AFC East title to a seat on the sidelines for the playoffs.
"I see a quick fix -- not even a fix,"
said Ryan. "This team is right there. That's exciting. Most teams you come into, you're taking over a team that won two, three, four football games. This is a team that was right there at the end, won nine games. I think the expectations are going to be huge. And they should be. I expect to win and win early."
Mangini finished with a 23-25 mark and one playoff appearance in his three seasons at the helm, making the postseason in his first season and overseeing a dismal 4-12 campaign in 2007.
