Geno Smith will return to the starting lineup for the Jets on Monday night against the Dolphins. It's becoming increasingly clear that decision did not emanate from the coaches office.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported Thursday that offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and quarterbacks coach David Lee were among the majority of people in the organization, including players, who wanted to stick with Michael Vick as the team's starting quarterback, according to a source.
"I think the best thing for this team right now is to play Geno Smith," Ryan said during a Wednesday conference call. "Does he give you a good chance to win? Or a chance to win? I believe he does give us a chance to win."
Not exactly high praise from Ryan, who remembers Smith's three-interception first-quarter meltdown against the Bills in Week 8. Vick replaced Smith and went 1-2 before being benched during New York's embarrassing Monday night loss to the Bills in Detroit.
Ryan told reporters on Friday that he expects Smith to be the starter for the balance of the season. He wouldn't elaborate on whether his coaches support the decision to go back to Smith.
"It's a Jets decision that Geno's our QB," Ryan said. "That's the way it is."
The likely story here is that general manager John Idzik wants a final look at Smith before the team has to make decisions at quarterback in the offseason. Smith whiffed in his opportunity to convince management he's the future at the position, but Idzik may be weighing whether Smith could still help the team if the Jets bring in another quarterback in 2015.
But the bigger story here is how Ryan is going out in New York. The man who announced his arrival by saying he wasn't going to kiss Belichick's rings is now coaching out the string with a quarterback he doesn't even want on the field.
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