Manish Mehta has a significant report today that Rex Ryan wants changes to be made on the team, particularly on offense and would prefer to be fired if they are not.
Ryan’s recommendations to Johnson would almost certainly include replacing first-year offensive coordinator Tony Sparano with a new play-caller. However, it’s unclear whether Johnson is willing to pay off the remaining portion of Sparano’s deal.
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Sources confirm that Ryan prefers to stay with the Jets if his owner is willing to pour in all the necessary resources to breathe life into one of the most anemic passing offenses in the league. Although Johnson’s bottom-line budget is unknown, sources said that Ryan won’t simply resign if the owner isn’t willing to make sufficient changes.
The great unknown with this organization is how much say Rex has with personnel and coaches. From the looks of this report, the answer seems to be not very much. Ryan has shown he is very loyal to his own. Him wanting drastic changes makes it look like people were forced on him.
Rex has not done a great job this year, but let's be honest. He was given a terrible hand. This is an extremely untalented roster, particularly on offense. That is even with Santonio Holmes. Mark Sanchez was one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league, and Ryan's only other options were a guy who couldn't even complete half of his passes and a seventh round pick with a popgun arm.
Everybody knows what Rex's weaknesses are because we see them every week. Every coach in the league has them. He also brings more to the table with his defensive acumen than all but a handful of coaches. The most important player on the team is the quarterback, and Ryan has won more than he has lost with some of the worst production in the league from that position. That says something.
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