Rex Ryan Loses Scapegoat, Gains Tactical Support
The New York Jets are assembling an epic amount of coaching brainpower.
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano is coming aboard as offensive coordinator. His buddy Todd Haley, the former Chiefs head coach, could join the staff as well.
Presumably their hiring would give Jets coach Rex Ryan more free time to hold news conferences and make ridiculous predictions.
Media whipping boy Brian Schottenheimer departed as offensive coordinator, although he has already been linked to possible jobs in Tampa (if father Marty hires on as head coach) and St. Louis (if Jeff Fisher signs on as coach).
Now that the pundits don’t have young Schottenheimer to kick around another more, Ryan can expect to feel more heat himself -- unless this rebuild staff starts delivering championships.
New York Post columnist Mark Vaccaro had this take:
Rex Ryan has gotten a little taste of what life on the New York griddle is like the past couple of weeks, has discovered that his act — which was a bigger hit than “The Book of Mormon” when the Jets were reaching back-to-back AFC title games — can wear ever so thin when he loses eight games and half his locker room.
The jokes aren’t quite as funny then.
The bluster isn’t quite as charming.
It doesn’t mean he has to be on a slippery slope out of town. It does mean he has gotten his first bloody lip and his first black eye, which means we get to see now what kind of punch he can take.
Especially now that his human shield is gone.
Yes, for as long as Ryan has been here, preaching like Billy Sunday about defense and about how tough his team is going to be, he has had barely a passing interest in his offense. When times were good, it allowed him to look like a great delegator, entrusting Brian Schottenheimer with his half of the ball while Rex and Mike Pettine went about building the perfect beast on the other side.
When times weren’t so good — which means much of this season, which means large chunks even of the first two seasons of this shotgun partnership — it meant Schottenheimer was led into the public square of public opinion and flogged mercilessly and branded a simpleton with a familiar surname. Ryan never quite joined along in the stonings and the shootings, not technically.
CRUMMY EFFORT OF THE NIGHT
The injury depleted Penguins took a 5-1 powder at home to the Senators, losing for the fifth time in a row.
“When you lose that many in a row, it’s tough, but you’ve got to find a way to battle back and get back to where we were as a hockey team,” Penguins forward James Neal told reporters. “Every game is crucial, but tonight was a crucial game and we came out and put ourselves in a hole right away.”
JUST WONDERING
How is tourism in Sandusky, Ohio doing these days? Does this promotional video really help much?
FROM THE TWEETDECK
Ashley Hays: “This just in: LSU is still stuck in New Orleans. Someone painted a 50 yard line in front of the bus.”
Mark Kriegel: “Forget Chris Paul. The Lakers should go after Brandon Paul.”
Bill Simmons: “The Clips can't contend with Vinny Del Negro. He's a strategic abomination. It's unbelievable. Maybe the worst game coach I have ever seen.”
Keith Law: “Boy, I bet the Phils are glad they got an early jump on that closer market.”
Jon Paul Morosi: “If the #Phillies could have had Ryan Madson for one year and $10 million in November, don’t you think they would have done it? #Reds”
Dan Wetzel: “Jets will overhaul the offense now. I, for one, am going to miss the six yard pass on third and seven concept”
Jimmy Traina: “Great. So in addition to Rex's big mouth, the Jets will have Tony Sparano's ridiculously over-the-top behavior on the sidelines. #Awful”
FROM THE BLOG-O-SPEAR
Can’t Stop The Bleeding fears for the Patriots:
In what can only be considered a grim omen for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, his adulterous head coach and out-of-wedlock impregnation machine quarterback, the brief overtime stanza of Denver’s defeat of Pittsburgh this past saturday drew a 31.6 rating in Denver . . .
For those keeping track of Biblical coincidences, this is the third statistic from Sunday’s game which involves the numbers three, one and six.
Tim Tebow, a man of strong Christian faith, wore “John 3:16″ on his eye black in the 2009 BCS Championship game.
On Sunday, Tebow passed for 316 yards and averaged 31.6 yards per pass.
