Albert Breer says Rex Ryan has not been part of first interviews for general manager candidates.

Been told Rex Ryan was not in on first round of Jets' GM interviews. Not all together unusual, but worth noting considering coach's status.

That is as it should be. Ryan being part of interviews at the very least gives the impression he is part of the decision-making process, which would likely scare off good candidates. This situation is unattractive enough.

Of course, there is no word on the role Rex played in the second round of interviews. One could only hope he is not part of them either. Hopefully the headhunting firm has made that clear to Woody Johnson.

I think the decision to keep Rex is justified by how long this has taken. It seems to have been a drawn out process by design. We are too late to start a head coaching search. By the time a new coach would be picked, the top assistants would be off the market. The caveat is the new general manager should be given the coach next year. Dealing with an inherited coach for one year to evaluate and then having the authority to make a decision shouldn't be a deal breaker.