NFL Insider: Rex Ryan, Jeff Ulbrich Have Fans in Jets for HC but ‘They’re Long Shots’

Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 9, 2025

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Rex Ryan returning as head coach of the New York Jets more than a decade after getting fired from that same position is reportedly not considered a likely outcome of the Jets’ ongoing head coaching search.

According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, both Ryan and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich “have fans in the building,” but they are viewed as “long shots” to be the next head coach of the Jets.

Graziano named former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores as the Jets’ preferred candidates, but noted that they may not be able to land any of them, which is why the organization has widened its search.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler added that the Jets are expected to interview “more than two dozen candidates” between their vacancies at head coach and general manager.

The Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start this season, but the move did not pay dividends, as New York went just 3-9 the rest of the way under Ulbrich.

With a 5-12 record overall, the Jets extended the longest active playoff drought in the NFL to 14 consecutive seasons.

The Jets last made the playoffs in 2010 when they reached the AFC Championship Game for a second straight year under Ryan.

Over Ryan’s first two seasons as the Jets’ head coach in 2009 and 2010, the team went 20-12 in the regular season and 4-2 in the playoffs, falling just one win short of the Super Bowl each time.

His final four seasons in New York were nowhere near as fruitful, though, with the Jets going 26-38 with no additional playoff appearances.

Following his firing in New York, Ryan spent two seasons as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, going 15-16 and failing to reach the playoffs with them as well.

Ryan has not coached since the Bills fired him near the end of the 2016 season, and he has primarily served as an NFL analyst with ESPN, although he has periodically expressed interest in a return to coaching.

The 62-year-old veteran coaching multiple top-five defenses during his time as the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator and Jets head coach, but it is fair to wonder if the game has passed him by given that it has been nearly a decade since he last coached.

Even so, Ryan expressed confidence this week that the Jets will hire him. When asked by Rick DiPietro and Dave Rothenberg of ESPN if he expects to be the Jets’ next head coach, Ryan responded affirmatively:

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefterRex Ryan told @HDumpty39 and @RothenbergESPN that he loves his chances of landing the Jets head coaching job.pic.twitter.com/5zqfPRzJva

“Oh 100 percent, absolutely I do,” Ryan said. “The reason I think I’m going to get it is because I am the best guy and it isn’t close. The thing that you have to do it you have to connect with their football team and their fanbase. The way they play, that’s the most important thing. Not just the X’s and O’s”

Despite Ryan’s belief, another factor potentially working against both him and Ulbrich is the notion that the Jets would prefer an offensive-minded head coach, which is something multiple people have told Fowler.

Of course, most of the top candidates available are from the defensive side of the ball, but Graziano named Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator and former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as a dark horse to land the job.