New York Jets Officially Fire Rex Ryan and John Idzik

Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland – USA Today

The New York Jets have officially began to clean out the house Monday, announcing the firing of coach Rex Ryan and general manager John Idzik.

After finishing the season with a despicable 4-12 record, the Jets had no other option then to move on from the Ryan era. In six seasons, he posted a 46-50 record, bringing New York to two AFC Championship games. However, in the last four years, Ryan took a huge step downward, failing to make a single playoff appearance. His best season record in that span was 8-8.

Overall, Ryan has had a pretty tough time dealing with the quarterback situations in New York. He was first given the man the Jets moved up in the NFL Draft for in Mark Sanchez, who was solid for half of his Jet years. That eventually led to the team releasing him and moving onto a rookie. That rookie was Geno Smith, who struggled right out of the gate, beginning with him dropping out of the first round of the NFL Draft. After his mediocre rookie year, he was forced to constantly battle veteran Mike Vick the following season; Smith ended the year as a starter and dominated in week 16, but it was too late to save either Ryan’s or Idzik’s job.

Idzik on the other hand, was a pretty easy decision. He failed to take advantage of the two years he was in office, failing to spend money each offseason. The most recent season, the Jets began $20 million dollars under the team’s salary cap. He made very few moves and gave Ryan no help on both offense and defense. His conservative nature led to a quick decision on owner Woody Johnson’s part, as he fired Idzik after just two seasons – an abnormal term for most general managers.

Trying to look towards the future, the Jets are set to interview Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for the head coaching job. They have also requested to interview Seattle’s director of pro personnel Trent Kirchner for the general manager job.

Ryan will likely find a job very soon, maybe continuing to coach for Atlanta, San Francisco and Chicago, who all parted ways with their coaches on Black Monday. If not, Ryan will be one heck of a defensive coordinator on any team.