NY Jets should give Rex Ryan two-year extension

MIAMI-Rex Ryan was lost in the sea of humanity, hidden from sight as his players hopped around him like co-eds on a caffeine rush moments after Woody Johnson delivered the news that their embattled coach would return next season.

“You’d think we won the Super Bowl,” Geno Smith said.

The roar in the Jets’ post-game locker room reverberated, a distinct sound that officially ended the season-long speculation about Ryan’s future that had intensified in recent weeks.

Johnson and GM John Idzik should now give Ryan a two-year extension through 2016 to avoid a similar distraction next year. Johnson, after all, echoed Ryan’s earlier sentiments that the Jets are an ascending team.

Although neither Johnson nor Idzik believed that the 8-8 team overachieved, it’s clear that Ryan and his coaching staff squeezed every bit out of a deficient roster.

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“I couldn’t be prouder of our team,” Johnson said.

Head coaches rarely enter a season as a true lame duck. Although details haven’t been hammered out yet, there’s an understanding between Ryan and the Jets that an extension hopefully will be reached. Both sides want to make it happen.

Ryan and Idzik maintained that decisions on the assistant coaches will be a collaborative effort. “Everything’s an organizational decision,” Ryan said.

The head coach, however, should be able to choose the makeup of his staff. There are about a half-dozen key assistants with expiring contracts. Most assistants are still in the dark about their futures.

There were indications Saturday that Ryan would be back next season, but Johnson eliminated any lingering doubt by informing the coach of his fate before the game. He relayed his decision to the players after the 20-7 win that knocked the Dolphins out of the playoffs.

Ryan, the showman, couldn’t muster up the words this time to offer an inspirational message to his players, who implored him: “Speech! Speech!”

He cracked a couple of one-liners before breaking down in front of the team. “I cried at my own wedding,” Ryan said.

Julio Cortez/ AP Photo

John Idzik's next move should be to extend Ryan's contract.

Ryan’s emotions capped the finest coaching job of his life. The Jets ended the season by winning two in a row for the first time.

It was truly a team win.

Johnson sounded hoarse from stretching his vocal cords for the better part of three hours. Idzik looked like he played for four quarters in a suit, soaked in sweat as he explained the decision to retain Ryan when some believed that he’d prefer to bring in a hand-picked head coach.

“I always made the assumption that we were together from the beginning,” Idzik said. “I know there’s been speculation throughout the season otherwise, but we’ve always been together. ... He’s been tremendous to work with. He’s a leader. He’s a motivator. He’s a teacher. He’s a heck of a coach.

“We have a great rapport,” Idzik added. “So I think it was a continuum. Throughout the offseason … we jelled. Through the regular season, nothing stopped.”

Ryan needed to use all his superpowers to avoid the ax, coaching and motivating a team with a purged roster that included a rookie quarterback to finish second in the AFC East when little was expected from pundits before the season.

Ryan’s message to his players before the season was corny, but effective: “You don’t work for me. I don’t work for you. We work for each other.”

The groundswell of support for a coach who hasn’t made the playoffs for the third consecutive season was telling. A fan base starving for a Super Bowl still wanted Ryan back.

Linebacker Demario Davis summed it up best: “The people just love Rex.”

Idzik reiterated that he believes in the concept of “building,” not “rebuilding,” to get the Jets to the Promised Land. The Jets are positioned well with plenty of salary cap space and draft picks this offseason to acquire the necessary pieces to be a viable playoff contender in the next few years.

Ryan and his assistants deserve to be a part of that building process. They’ve already proven what they can do with a subpar roster. Imagine the possibilities with a talent upgrade.

Ryan’s players reiterated that he’s the right guy to get the Jets back to where they were a few short years ago. The postgame celebration was proof of it.

Ryan survived.

People with nine lives are even jealous.