Rex Ryan's 41st career win as head coach could possibly be his last. On the eve of penultimate game of the 2013 Jets season, Rex's fifth with the team, Ryan told his players that "the word on the street" is that he's going to be fired after the season, and asked them to fight with him for the last two games of the season.
Midway through the second quarter of football against the hapless Browns though, it looked like Gang Green was ready to send Rex on his way for some parting goddamn snacks. The team rallied around their head coach, outscoring Cleveland 24-3 from that point forward on the way to a 24-13 victory. Geno Smith had an efficient game, finishing 20-36 for 214 and 3 total touchdowns (2 passing).
The criticisms of Rex are fair, he is a defensive minded head coach who has a hands-off mentality when it comes to the offense, his mouth can write checks his ass can't cash, and he has a history of blundered timeouts/challenges. However, you can't argue with the results. His .518 (41-38) winning percentage is third highest in Jets history (even though Al Groh shouldn't count since he was only a coach for one season). Ryan's four playoff wins is also a franchise high. You know going into the season that a Rex Ryan coached defense will always be ready to play on Sundays. Nobody expected this team to be competitive going into the season, let alone be in the playoff race going into Week 14. You can argue that Rex has gotten more out of his team than any other coach in the NFL this season.
I don't understand why John Idzik would bring Rex back for this year, and when he exceeds even the most optimistic Jets fans expectations, he is still on the chopping block. There is no doubt that players love playing for Rex and his unique style of motivation. As much as Mike Francesa thinks that Rex is a clown or a buffoon, his player universally love him.
If Rex only has 7 days left as Jets head coach he is going out like he came in. In the post-game presser, Ryan joked that the players will be out buying presents with Santa tomorrow and he doesn't care what the media thinks about giving the team a "victory Monday". He also praised cornerback Dee Milliner after riding the rookie through much of the season. If next week's game against Miami ends the reign of Sexy Rexy, I want to be the first person to thank him for all he's done in re-establishing pride in this franchise.
