The most competitive battle of the New York Jets season might be a war of words between ex-head coach Rex Ryan and their new leader Robert Saleh.
Saleh was known as a defensive guru when the Jets hired him earlier this year. But with the Jets floundering on both sides of the ball, giving up points at a historically bad pace in recent weeks, Ryan took Saleh’s “defensive guru” label personally Monday morning on ESPN Radio.
“This guy was supposed to be a defensive guru,” Ryan said. “I heard everything and I take it personal on this one. Everything I’ve heard about was, well this guy’s a lot like myself, but without the bad part. Yeah, well some of the bad part you need because this team doesn’t play with any damn heart. That’s the thing that’s disappointing to me. Don’t ever compare this guy to me, this Robert Saleh to me.”
Monday afternoon, Saleh joined ESPN Radio for his weekly interview with The Michael Kay Show and he was asked about Ryan’s comments. Saleh could have pleaded ignorance to Ryan’s harsh critique, but the usually even-keeled Jets coach was clearly fuming over the attack.
“I’ve never met Rex, I’ve never had a conversation with Rex,” Saleh told Kay. “I don’t even know him except for people who know him throughout the league. Obviously, if it’s that personal for him – he knows where to find
Asked if he was surprised to hear Ryan go after him that hard, Saleh said, “I’m not surprised by him, he’s always got something to say.”
Typically, former players and coaches show more of a brotherhood mentality and hesitate to eviscerate people who are currently employed by an NFL team. But Ryan is often one to go against the grain. Ryan has not coached an NFL team since 2016 and his assessment of Saleh is unlikely to convince the Jets to write him a future letter of recommendation.
The Jets haven’t done much more than sniff the playoffs after Ryan was let go by the team late in 2014. Since Ryan’s departure, Jets leadership has been a revolving door of dysfunction, with Saleh being the latest example.
Watch above via The Michael Kay Show