Another blown lead, another 2-6 start. The answer has been sitting in an ESPN studio the whole time, and he might not be available much longer.
| NFL Opinion | Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Let me get something straight before anybody calls this nostalgia. I'm not writing this because I miss 2010. I'm writing it because I'm tired. Tired of the same organization making the same mistakes, hiring the same kind of people, selling the same promises and delivering the same miserable results.
The 
New York Jets are 2-6. On Sunday they led the 
Las Vegas Raiders 30-21 in the third quarter after Braelon Allen ran one in from 21 yards out. A nine-point lead at home. Then the Raiders outscored them 17-3 the rest of the way, and Matt Gay drilled a 53-yard field goal with 27 seconds left to win it 38-33 (box score).
Another game we should have won. Gone.
So I have a suggestion, and yes, I'm serious.
Pick up the phone. Call Rex Ryan. Apologize. And ask him to come home.
He Already Asked for the Job
In January 2025, Rex came into the building, interviewed for the head coaching job, and campaigned for it in public. He went on TV and said he was convinced the Jets were going to hire him. He wasn't hiding anything and he wasn't playing games. He wanted it.
The Jets went in another direction.
Well, here we are. Almost two seasons later, the organization is still searching for answers, and the man who actually understands what it means to be a New York Jet is still sitting at ESPN talking about football.
And here's the part that should scare Woody Johnson. Last week, reports out of Maryland said Rex has been putting out feelers about the Terrapins' head coaching job. If the Jets don't call him, somebody else might.
Maybe it's time to admit the organization got that decision wrong. Maybe it's time for Woody to swallow his pride.
This Isn't Just Another Candidate. This Is Family.
I don't think the Jets ever fully appreciated where Rex comes from.
His father, Buddy Ryan, got his first NFL coaching job on Weeb Ewbank's staff in 1968, as a defensive assistant on the team that won Super Bowl III. Rex worked as a ballboy that year, and he and his twin brother Rob ran around that Jets locker room. Rex was born on December 13, 1962, so he was five years old for most of that championship season.
Think about that. He wasn't watching the Jets on TV like the rest of us. He grew up inside the building, around the players, the coaches and the practice fields.
Then he went out and learned the trade. He coached in college, worked under his father with the Arizona Cardinals, and landed in Baltimore, where he coached the defensive line on the Ravens defense that won Super Bowl XXXV. He became their defensive coordinator, and in 2006 the Pro Football Writers of America named him NFL Assistant Coach of the Year.
And the Ryan name is already back in the building. In February the Jets hired Rex's son, Seth Ryan, as their passing game coordinator. Buddy coached here. Seth coaches here now. The only Ryan missing is the one who asked for the head job.
Three First-Round Picks. Perfect Timing.
Here's why the timing could not be better. At the trade deadline last November, the Jets sent Sauce Gardner to the Colts for first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 plus receiver Adonai Mitchell, and sent Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys for a 2027 first-rounder, a 2026 second-rounder and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Mitchell, by the way, caught a touchdown against the Raiders on Sunday.
That means the Jets own three first-round picks in the 2027 draft: their own, the Colts' and the Cowboys'.
Now look at where those picks sit today. The Jets are 2-6. The Colts are 2-6. The Cowboys are 3-5. Only the Chargers (0-7), Titans (1-7) and Dolphins (1-6) have worse records than the Jets and Colts, so both of those picks are in the top six right now. Dallas is in a four-way tie at 3-5 with Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Arizona, which puts that pick somewhere between No. 10 and No. 13, depending on tiebreakers.
Three first-round picks, and potentially three in the top 10. That's a full rebuild handed to you on a plate. So who do you want spending that kind of draft capital: a staff that's 2-6 and still figuring it out, or a coach who knows exactly what kind of football team he wants to build?
Remember What Rex Did Here
In 2009 Rex took over a team that hadn't won a playoff game since the 2004 season, and he changed the whole atmosphere overnight.
- 2009: 9-7, into the playoffs, beat the Bengals in Cincinnati, beat the Chargers in San Diego, and played for the AFC Championship. His quarterback was a rookie named Mark Sanchez.
- 2010: 11-5, beat Peyton Manning and the Colts in Indianapolis, went into Foxborough and beat Tom Brady and the Patriots, and played for the AFC Championship again. Still Mark Sanchez.
Put that in perspective. Rex didn't have Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. He had a young quarterback, a physical running game, a great offensive line and a defense that scared people. And he made it work.
I'm not going to pretend the end was perfect. He went 46-50 in the regular season and 4-2 in the playoffs, and the Jets missed the playoffs in each of his last four years. But two straight trips to the AFC Championship Game is something this franchise hasn't come close to since. The Jets haven't been back to the playoffs at all in the 15 seasons since 2010.
More than the wins, Rex owned the room. Players believed in him. He brought energy, confidence, accountability and a defensive identity. You knew exactly what a Rex Ryan team was supposed to look like.
Can anybody tell me what this Jets team is supposed to look like?
Aaron Glenn Deserves Better, but Something Has to Change
I want to be clear so nobody twists this: I'm still an Aaron Glenn guy.
I respect the man and his football background, and I think he can be a valuable part of this organization. But being a good football coach and being the right person to run the whole operation are two different things. At some point you have to stop confusing potential with results.
I'd keep Glenn. Make him defensive coordinator under Rex and hand him the defense. Call him associate head coach if that helps. Figure out the structure. I'm not throwing him out the door and pretending he brings nothing.
The offense is another conversation. The Jets hired Frank Reich as offensive coordinator in February, and after the Raiders game he should have been gone. You can't keep watching an offense fail to finish games without somebody being held accountable. This isn't a participation trophy business.
Rex knows how to build a staff, set responsibilities and demand accountability. That's exactly what's missing.
Not Just a New Coach. A Complete Reboot.
This brings me back to something I've been saying for three years: change the colors, change the uniforms, change the name. Change the whole identity.
I don't mean another redesign where somebody tweaks the shade of green and calls it a new era. I mean starting over, and separating this team from decades of losing, failed quarterback experiments and an ownership group that can't seem to figure out how a winning football operation works.
There's precedent:
- Cleveland and Baltimore. Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1996, where they became the Ravens. Cleveland got an expansion team in 1999 and kept the Browns name and history. Baltimore went on to win Super Bowls XXXV and XLVII.
- Houston and Tennessee. The Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997, played two seasons as the Oilers and became the Titans in 1999. They made the Super Bowl that very season.
- Washington. The Redskins became the Washington Football Team in 2020 and the Commanders in 2022.
- The Rams. They went home to Los Angeles in 2016 and rolled out a brand-new look in 2020.
A new name doesn't automatically make a winner. But sometimes a fan base needs something new to believe in. Give us new colors, a new logo, a new identity, and do it with a football operation that knows what it's doing.
And I already have the name: the New York Sentinels. A sentinel is a guard who stands watch, and that's exactly what Rex Ryan defenses were built to do. It sounds tough, it sounds like New York, and it finally puts some distance between this team and the same old Jets.
The Rex Ryan Reboot: Here's What I'd Do
- Hire Rex Ryan as head coach. Give him the culture, the staff, the accountability and the defensive identity.
- Keep Aaron Glenn as defensive coordinator or associate head coach, and let him do what he does best.
- Replace Frank Reich. Find an offensive mind who can build a consistent system and understands situational football.
- Reevaluate the front office. The general manager and the personnel department have to answer for the roster and the quarterback decisions.
- Rebrand the franchise as the New York Sentinels.
New name, new colors, new uniforms, new logo. A real reset, not a marketing campaign. - Build around fundamentals, starting with those three first-round picks. Offensive line, defensive line, a running game, a disciplined defense and a quarterback who can run a system.
And stop selling us another five-year rebuild. We've heard enough about the future. We want to win now.
Woody Johnson, You Owe the Fans an Explanation
I don't know if Rex is the long-term answer. Nobody can promise that. He hasn't coached since the Bills let him go after the 2016 season, and that's a fair concern.
But I know what he brought here. I remember the confidence, the attitude, and opposing teams having to game-plan for a defense that could take over a football game. I remember a head coach who actually looked like he wanted to be here.
When Rex came looking for the job in January 2025, the Jets had a chance to reconnect with somebody who understands this organization and this fan base, and who already took the franchise to the doorstep of a Super Bowl. They passed.
So here's my message to Woody Johnson. Pick up the phone. Call Rex. Apologize for passing on him. Tell him the organization is ready to listen this time. And if he's willing, let him restore some pride in this franchise.
The Jets don't need another motivational speech, another fancy press conference or another quarterback announcement. They need leadership, an identity and a complete reboot. They need to stop treating the last 15 years like an acceptable business model.
I'm still an Aaron Glenn supporter, and I'd love to see him be part of the solution. But I'm ready for Rex Ryan to come home. And if that means changing the name on the building and the colors on the uniforms, so be it.
Because whatever we're doing right now isn't working.
IT'S TIME TO STOP BEING THE SAME OLD JETS.
Next Up: Jets at Chiefs
The Jets visit the 
Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, November 8, at 1:00 PM ET. Run it in the game simulator, see our pick, check the NFL injury report, and build it in the NFL Parlay Builder or the NFL Teaser Generator. Watch it all in the NFL Game Zone and on FantasyDailies TV on Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Think I'm crazy? Tell me in the forum.
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