Rex Ryan Redux

jets-helmetWay, way back at the end of September — and the beginning of the NFL season — I posted some articles regarding rookie Jets coach Rex Ryan.

In the first post, I mentioned that “The Mets Can Learn From the Jets“, with the gist of it being that Rex Ryan came into New York and announced that he “expected” to win IMMEDIATELY.

The subject of the second post was related to the Mets being “soft”, and compared that to Rex Ryan’s edict that the Jets would be “tough”. To reiterate the point of that post:

I’ve brought up Ryan again because he is living proof that the right leadership can completely change the culture and attitude of a professional team — and parlay that into success on the field.

If you remember, the underlying motivation behind these Rex Ryan posts was to compare him to Wally Backman, who eventually found his way back into the Mets’ system. That said, I remain 100% behind the Wally hiring, and believe that if the Mets want to return to the postseason, they will need to make more moves aimed at changing the overall attitude of the organization.

Since the Jets have miraculously found their way to an AFC Championship game, I feel it is relevant to remind everyone of these posts from September — mainly as proof that a sheer change in attitude can vastly impact results.

Here are the two Ryan videos, for those who missed them the first time around:

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
  1. isuzudude January 24, 2010 at 9:50 am
    I believe you meant the AFC championship game.
  2. joejanish January 24, 2010 at 2:45 pm
    Thanks ‘dude, I made the correction. Can you tell I don’t watch football, ever?
  3. gary s. January 25, 2010 at 12:50 am
    as a lifelong met and jet fan, i agree with u joe that preaching a winning attitude mixed with toughness which rex ryan brought to the jets can turn a team around.my jets lost today, but they have nothing to be ashamed of.the jets don’t suffer from a dysfunctional front office like the mets do.the jets finished at 9-7 last year, but the owner wanted accountability and fired the coach (mangini) and his staff.we went 72-90 and the ownership brings back the manager and gm.In my opinion, manuel and minaya should have been sent packing along with the entire medical staff and a new gm and manager and staff should have been brought in to imbue toughness and a winning attitude.Accountability worked for the jets.the wilnots still seem clueless to me .