Chicago, Atlanta Or Bristol? Daily News' Mehta On What's Next For Rex Ryan
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Rex Ryan will land a job soon enough. But where -- and what -- remains to be seen.
Ryan, fired by the New York Jets on Monday, apparently has no interest in going back to his roots as a defensive coordinator. It's head coach or bust.
Or Bristol?
The 52-year-old has a meeting scheduled with ESPN brass on Tuesday, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Ryan would reportedly consider a job in television as a fallback, and with his boisterous, engaging personality, he could have networks lining up for his services.
"It appears that ESPN would probably be the likely landing spot (in the media)," Mehta told WFAN's Marc Malusis and Kim Jones on Tuesday.
San Francisco is looking for a new head coach. Oakland will start interviews in the coming days, too. Mehta thinks Chicago or Atlanta -- both teams fired their head coaches on Black Monday -- would make the most sense for Ryan, and of the two, the Falcons job would appear to be the better fit.
"You have an established quarterback who doesn't provide you any headaches. So you're taking Matt Ryan over Jay Cutler, of course," Mehta said. "You've got one of the best wide receivers in football in Julio Jones, who would clearly be the best offensive skill-position player that Rex Ryan has ever coached. And what you need to do is fix the defense. It was the last-ranked defense -- 32nd in the league against the pass, 32nd in the league in total defense. And everybody knows that Rex Ryan fixes defenses. So I don't think that would be as difficult for him as it would be maybe for somebody else coming in."
Those somebody elses could include Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase, Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles or New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Ryan has something that those candidates don't, at least not yet: an ally in the owner's box.
"When you look at that situation, it makes perfect sense to me," Mehta said of Ryan and the Falcons. "I know that Arthur Blank likes Rex Ryan. He interviewed Rex Ryan in 2008, a year before the Jets hired him. But ultimately my understanding is that Rex and Blank really hit it off, but Blank did not have a general manager after the first round of interviews. After the second round of interviews, he had already hired Thomas Dimitroff ... and obviously Dimitroff preferred Mike Smith over Rex and some other candidates. My understanding this time around is even though Dimitroff is in place, that Arthur Blank is going to make the hire. So maybe that bodes well for Rex. We'll see."
Ryan also has some serious demerits. The Jets failed to make the playoffs for four straight years after consecutive AFC Championship game appearances. His pitch could be a particularly hard sell coming off a four-win season.
"I think what happens, really, if he doesn't get one of his jobs, he'll rebuild his brand over the course of the next year on television, much like (Jon) Gruden has done, much like (Bill) Cowher has done," Mehta told WFAN's Malusis and Jones. "It seems like those guys -- their stock has risen through the years even though they haven't coached. And anybody who knows Rex Ryan ... anybody who sees him on television will gravitate toward him."
Mehta thinks that if Ryan goes that route, he'd be best served visiting with offensive-minded coaches like Green Bay's Mike McCarthy.
"That was his shortcoming has a head coach," Mehta said. "I think if he can get a better understanding of that type of coach, then that would serve him well in interviews moving forward, maybe in 2016."
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