When Rex Ryan got the Jets coaching job last January, the Ravens players about to be free agents all smiled. They knew where they might have a new home a few hours up Interstate 95.
“After losing the AFC Championship last year, one thing that helped us to get over that was the fact that Rex got what he deserved,” linebacker Bart Scott said. “It was a long time coming. I wanted to go play with him because I wanted to play defense the way that it’s supposed to be played. I didn’t want to go anywhere and be a robot.
“I wanted to go somewhere and be successful and aggressive. I didn’t want to be a bend, don’t break type of guy. I wanted to go out and be part of a successful unit that [tries] to rewrite history and [do] something that could bring a legacy and tradition to New York so that the team is known.”
The feeling was mutual. When free agency began, Ryan was on Scott’s doorstep the first minute he could be. After bagging Scott, Ryan turned to other ex-Ravens Jim Leonhard and Marques Douglas.
The trio helped Ryan install his defense and let the Jets adjust to their new coach’s style. There used to be a saying in these parts about “Parcells Guys,” the players who followed Bill Parcells from coaching stop to coaching stop. The ex-Ravens are “Ryan Guys.”
“When Rex first got here, he was more like a coach,” nose tackle Sione Pouha. “Seeing how Marques would joke around with him, and Bart would joke around with him you get caught off guard. You’re not used to things like that. Then you’re kind of like, ‘Cool, that’s cool.’ The relationship they had makes you appreciate that he’s your coach and you want to play for him. For me, I want to be one of his guys.”
Ryan gives credit for the defense being No. 1 in the NFL to the help Scott, Leonhard and Douglas gave the coaches. With a linebacker, defensive back and defensive end he had all three parts of the defense covered.
“All those guys put this defense in,” Ryan said. “And that’s something that they should really feel proud of. And by the way, they’re great players.
“You look at the impact Jim Leonhard’s had, especially in the playoffs. Just a little guy that all he does is make plays. He’s passionate. I think everybody appreciates him. You know, Bart is better known for his mouth but he happens to be a great football player. Then Marques Douglas, you know, he doesn’t look the part. All he does is make plays.”
All three of the players were undrafted free agents out of college. They had to scrap to fight for their place in the NFL.
“He roots for the underdog,” Douglas said. “A lot of us that were in the Baltimore locker room were underdogs. We didn’t have five first-round picks up front. We were a bunch of guys that people said couldn’t play this game. Misfits, journeymen, you name it.”
Just call them, “Ryan Guys.”