For New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, 2012 was a time to forget.
"I don't even give a sh-- about last year. I'm tired of talking about it," Ryan recently told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
"I'm not worried about being a lame-duck guy," Ryan said. "I'm not worried about that. I am not. I look at this as an opportunity."
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Ryan has kept his head above choppy waters in Gotham, but his fifth season with the Jets could be his last if Gang Green produces another flaming trainwreck. Still, Mehta noted that first-year general manager John Idzik, unlike, say, Phil Emery in Chicago, won't have the sole power to decide Ryan's future after the season. His fate still boils down to team owner Woody Johnson, a figure long enamored with Ryan's ability to morph the Jets into a media centerpiece.
Ryan isn't about to mail it in.
"Look, I'm disappointed in the product that we put on the field both personally (and for) our fans," he said. "Because I'm a Jet fan. I'm no different than anybody else. I know they're disappointed. I know they're ticked off at how we played last year. And I'm sure they're upset at me, and rightfully so."
The good news: Ryan is returning to his roots and taking a larger role in planning the defense this season. He remains one of the game's finer minds on that side of the ball. On offense, new coordinator Marty Mornhinweg has the freedom to operate.
But let's not whitewash it: There's a talent void here and major questions at quarterback. But Ryan -- rolling into the fray with nine new assistants, 10 new starters and a GM with an eye for change -- is grasping at the positives:
"I think the outside talk about me being a lame-duck coach really doesn't bother me, because this is the best I've felt, ever," Ryan told Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com. "I've finally figured out how to be a head coach in my own way, and how to lead and get my vision of the team through to my players. I have to coach defense every single day."
Every single day, for at least one more year.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
