Head Coach Rex Ryan

Obviously you guys have been so good at running the ball. Is it a matter this year of getting behind in games?

That’s certainly part of it without question. You’d like to be in front and then you can start pounding the ball a little bit, but we have been trailing in a lot of the games this year. But looking back at it, maybe we kind of got enamored with a different personnel grouping maybe more so than we had in the past. But I think we’re back to running the ball a little better and a little more efficiently than we did at the early part of the year.

So it’s not like you’ve changed your philosophy for good? You do want to run it?

Absolutely. We want to be more balanced, though. I think the first year, remember when we came out there to play San Diego? We were like almost 70 percent run, you know what I mean? It was tilted a little more heavily toward the run than even we would like to be. Being more balanced, I think, is where we want to be.

You’ve started to trust Mark Sanchez a little bit more, too, right?

We definitely trust Mark more. But I think our style and our personnel – do what’s in the best interest of your team, and I thought we were more efficient running the football than throwing the football back then. So right now we think we have an offense that can do both. I think we’re struggling statistically when you look at us. But I think we are a better team than those stats would say.

You have two really good corners, one of them highly consistent and the other maybe not so much. Can you talk about both the similarities and differences between Revis and Cromartie?

Cro has done great. We’re really excited to have Cro here with us. He did a great job last year for us and he’s had a good year so far this year. Not every corner in this league can play man coverage and we really like to play man coverage, so we think you have to have a special skill set to do that. We think Cro has that. And then the other guy, you can forget about it. He’s head-and-shoulders better than any corner in this league. He does things that I don’t think have been done in this league, and that’s a guy that can take away your No. 1 receiver and still roll coverage away from him, where a lot of times in the past you’d have a shutdown corner and he’d be on a team’s No. 2 receiver. With Darelle, we challenge him on almost any receiver in this league. I’m not saying he won’t give up a completion every now and then, but we’ll take our chances.

As a defensive coach, to be able to base your defense off that and shift your resources elsewhere to bring pressure, what’s the benefit there?

It definitely makes your job easier as a coach, there’s no question about it. But most guys in this league, even some of these really good ones, guys that are like, ‘Hey, make me the highest-paid corner,’ they want help. This guy doesn’t want help. He doesn’t care. You do what you do and he never flinches one bit. That’s the thing you love about this guy.

Philip Rivers has struggled a little bit this year but doesn’t throw a lot of interceptions. Philip against your corners, as a defensive coach, do you get excited about that matchup?

Not really. I don’t get excited about facing Philip Rivers, let me tell you that much. I will say this: I love that dude as a competitor. He is a tremendous competitor. He can make all the throws. He knows it. He’s smart and he’s tough. He’ll run with it if he has to. Inside of the 10, it’s like he thinks he’s Larry Csonka or something. He is a great quarterback and a great competitor.

Is this just another game for your team or is it a pivotal game in your season?

The fact that we’re playing at home, that’s got to be special to us. We talked about it going into this year that we have to do better at home. So far we’re undefeated at home, so our three wins have all come at home, and that’s what we’re trying to maintain is that home-field advantage. We’re playing an excellent football team. We’re playing against the Chargers. Again, I like our chances. I think we have a great team. We’ve been struggling at times this year, but hey, if San Diego’s going to beat us, they’d better be really good.

Do you get a sense that this is a major occasion for LaDainian Tomlinson?

Oh, I would think so. There’s no way it can’t be. You’re talking about a first-ballot Hall of Fame player, and he had all those great years in San Diego. He really established himself and his legacy and all that, and certainly we’ve appreciated him here and what he’s done for our football team, but we know when he goes into Canton, if it was like baseball, he’d have a Chargers’ helmet on.

LT has scored against every team in the league except the Chargers. If an opportunity presented itself, would you like to see him get in the end zone this week?

I wasn’t aware of that, but now that you mention it, absolutely. We’d love to see that, but we’re just trying to score. Obviously against San Diego, it’s tough. They have one of the best defenses in the league. Statistically when you look at it, that offense is really good. We’re going to try to find a way to score.

Is it just an odd circumstance that LT hasn’t scored yet in a Jets home game?

I had no idea that was the case, I’ll be honest with you.

Now does it strike you as an odd circumstance?

I’m trying to get over it (laughs). I’m like, ‘Really? Are you kidding me?’ That doesn’t seem right, you know? We’ve got to do something about that.

Are we seeing a kinder, more humble Rex Ryan this year?

I could pop off a comment, but I’m not going to. You know what, I’m the same guy, always. You could probably go back and look at the interview or get your tapes out from when you guys interviewed me before we played in the playoff game. It’s the same guy. I’m never going to change. I took this job knowing that I have one chance in my life at being a head coach in this league. That’s how I approach it. I’m just an average person given an unbelievable opportunity in a great organization, so I’m going to have at it. They wanted me to be myself, and so that’s what I am.

Do you think a little inner friction might be good for a team?

I’m not sure. I think sometimes these things happen. We got a couple comments last week or something like that. I personally don’t like it, but we’re no different than anybody else. I just think our team is so open and transparent that things can get out, but I’ve been in a lot of locker rooms where things happen like that. With us, we’re chasing a much bigger thing than just that. So we’re past it.

How important is it for coaches to just be themselves?

Oh, it has to be. Let’s face it, there are a lot of Jets fans that wish that I had some Norv Turner in me. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. But again, you have to be true to who you are. That’s the only way it works, whether a player’s in this generation or past generations or whatever. They could see through a guy who wasn’t being true to himself or wasn’t the real deal. I’m different than everybody else in the league, but that’s OK. One thing my dad always taught me was you have to be yourself, and that’s the only way you’re going to be successful. I know I’m not anywhere near perfect, not even close. I’ve made mistakes in my life and still make them, but you try to learn. I don’t have the experience of other coaches in this league, but hopefully one day I’ll be 10 years or 15 years in this league as a head coach and it’ll be like, ‘Man, look at these young pups,’ you know? But right now I’m kind of feeling my way still, and this is my third year.

You mentioned having a chance of a lifetime as a head coach. Ever reflect on if that chance had come here in San Diego and how things would’ve been different?

Well I think I would’ve had a couple rings (laughs). I’m telling you, those teams were loaded, there’s no question about it. But things happen for a reason. Obviously Norv Turner has done a great job there, and A.J. and everybody. That’s a great franchise. He was probably the best guy for the job at that time. I think with me, I was so happy that A.J. gave me the opportunity to interview in San Diego because, quite honestly, I wasn’t on anybody’s radar. We had set records in ’06 on defense and won a lot of games, but for some reason, there was like 10 openings and he’s the only person that interviewed me. I thought that opened some doors for me. The next year I had three interviews. I never got any, so I must do a terrible job in the interview process, but I was always myself and if somebody was going to hire me, the only thing I wanted is that they would allow me to be myself. I’m real fortunate that I was given this opportunity here with the Jets.

Don’t you think you should have two rings with the Jets by now?

Man, believe me, there’s no question I do. That first year, I think I was the only guy, I was like, ‘We’ve got to be the favorites in this league.’ Everybody thought I was crazy, but I knew we had a good football team, and I knew we were peaking at the right time. I think that’s what you have to do. Unfortunately, we haven’t put a whole championship game together. We had a great first half against the Colts where we go in at halftime, we’re up, and this past one against the Steelers we’re down (24-0) and came roaring back. We were just a little late. It’s hard to get there, but hopefully we can close out this whole thing this year.

If A.J. Smith had decided, ‘Rex, you’re our guy,’ what do you think you could’ve brought to the table that would’ve brought the Chargers over the hump a couple times?

I have no idea. I think Norv Turner’s done an unbelievable job there. Such a consistent winner, and I think that combination of Norv and A.J. is a winning formula, clearly. But I have no idea. I’m sure I would’ve really leaned on A.J. and they have a lot of great people in that organization.

Rex, what have you learned about LT in the last two years that maybe you didn’t know before he was one of your players?

I think we all know about the competitiveness and all that, but what a teammate. Just a phenomenal teammate. I think that’s the biggest thing. He’s such a leader, even for us. Last year was his first year playing for the Jets, but he was amazing. He took to the leadership role immediately and obviously he commands such a great deal of respect. The guys just think the world of him. He’s been outstanding since he’s been here.

Aren’t we looking at two very different teams since the last time we saw you guys play?

I think we’re looking at two good football teams. I don’t think there’s any doubt. Both teams are capable of doing a lot of good things this year. But I think we’re similar. You go back and look, we’re built on playing great defense and being as we put it an all-weather offense. I still think we’re there. We might not statistically be where we would like to be. I think San Diego, when I watch them on film, that looks very familiar to me. It’s a different running back, Ryan Mathews instead of LT and Darren Sproles, but that’s a Norv Turner offense that you’re going up against. Their defense has been really good and it was really good back then as well.

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