The Jets have completed an interview with Rex Ryan for the Green & White's head coach position.
Ryan, an NFL analyst for ESPN, is vying to return to the role he held from 2009-14 with the Jets. In his first two seasons at the helm, the Jets earned wild-card entry to the postseason, won a pair of road playoff games and advanced to the AFC Championship game. Over his five seasons, the Jets compiled a 46-50 mark in the regular season.
After his tenure with the Jets, Ryan stayed in the AFC East as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Under Ryan's direction, the Bills went 15-16 in 2015-16.
Prior to joining the Jets in 2009, Ryan spent 10 seasons (1999-2008) as a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens. He was Baltimore's defensive coordinator from 2005-08 and was part of a Ravens staff that won Super Bowl XXXV. He was named Assistant Coach of the Year by Pro Football Weekly and by the Pro Football Writers Association in 2016.
The Ardmore, OK, native attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky in 1997-98. He also coached at Nex Mexico Highlands (1989) and Morehead State (1990-93) before moving to the NFL and serving as the Arizona Cardinals DL and LB coach in 1994-95 under his late father, Buddy Ryan. He jumped back to college and was the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati (1996-97), Oklahoma (1998) and Kansas State (1999).
Ties to the Jets have always run deep for Ryan -- Buddy Ryan served as the DL coach for Weeb Ewbank during the Jets' 1968 championship season. Rex and his twin brother, Rob, worked as ballboys for the club.
Jets Chairman Woody Johnson is leading the searches for a head coach and general manager. He hired The 33rd Team in a support role to help identify and vet candidates in addition to coordinate interviews.
For a full list of the head coaching and general manager candidates the Jets have interviewed, click here.
