Rex Ryan dropped an F-bomb on Friday.
No, not the kind Geno Smith deployed a few weeks ago. This one might be even harder to take for Jets fans.
The Jets coach admitted what this 1-6 season has been so far.
“It’s been a big failure, obviously,” Ryan said. “The season’s not over, but you don’t want to be 1-6. If you’d ask me, I was thinking we’d be the other way. We expect to win every game.”
The Jets are riding a six-game losing streak after Thursday’s heartbreaking 27-25 loss to the rival Patriots. The Jets outperformed the Patriots in nearly every category, except the scoreboard.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Jets are the first team in NFL history to lose a game with 40 minutes of time of possession (40:54), 200 rushing yards (218) and no giveaways. Time of possession became a stat in 1977.
The loss is just the latest staggering blow in what has been a brutal season for Ryan and the Jets. The loss makes Ryan’s seat hotter as the playoffs now look impossible to reach. Does anyone expect this team to close 8-1?
Ryan admitted two weeks ago that if the Jets don’t turn this thing around, he expects to be fired. When asked about his job security Friday, he deflected the question.
“I’m not focused on what’s down the road,” Ryan said. “I’m focused on the right now as well. I can’t expect my team to be focused that way if I’m looking down the road. You’re right. This is a win business. I understand that. There’s no doubt. But this is about the team. It’s always been the team. That’s the priority. The priority has never been my future.”
That future looks bleak as the Jets are on their way to a fourth straight season with no playoffs under Ryan. Since that magical game in the 2010 playoffs against the Patriots, the Jets have been in a slide that does not look ready to end anytime soon.
The emotion was evident on Ryan’s face after the game Thursday. He was as angry in his postgame press conference as he has ever been. He snapped at reporters and made sarcastic remarks, clear signs of his frustration.
“I hate losing,” Ryan said Friday. “The reason I’m so angry is I know how much effort this team puts into it, how much effort the coaches put in, but, more importantly, how much effort the players put into this. They’re putting everything into it. They deserve a better fate. You’ve got to earn victories, but I know these men, they deserve a better fate.
“I think that’s the thing that’s most upsetting. To me, I’d do anything in my power, whatever it would be, if I could find a way for this team to win. Not for my own benefit, but for these guys. They deserve it.”
The Jets players rallied around Ryan last year to finish 8-8 and save his job. It seems unlikely they can pull off the feat again, but clearly the players are still playing for their coach.
“He’s not going anywhere,” tackle Breno Giacomini said. “We’re going to fight for him.”
The Jets completed the most difficult stretch of their schedule — a six-week assault of great quarterbacks. They went 0-6, but Ryan said the defense played pretty well considering the level of competition.
“To think that we’re just going to shut people out to 100 yards passing or something like that, it’s not realistic when you look at the talent of the six teams,” Ryan said. “It has nothing to do with the talent we have. It has to do with the talent that we’re up against.”
Many people would disagree, pointing the finger of blame at general manager John Idzik for not arming Ryan with better cornerbacks. Ryan disagreed.
“We like our talent,” Ryan said. “Obviously, you don’t like the injuries that we’ve had. We’ve had a tough go of it, at the cornerback spot, in particular, when you lose a [Dee] Milliner, you lose [Dexter] McDougle — two guys you’re really counting on — you have a guy go AWOL [Dimitri Patterson] on you. It’s hard to anticipate. You lose three corners that you really thought could contribute for you. Dee never even played a full game this year. Those are some things you’re dealing with. Obviously, that’s going to weaken you in some areas. We feel good about our players, regardless of who we have.”