Rex Ryan On Woody Johnson: 'He Had No Choice, He Had To Fire Me'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It didn't come as a surprise.
On December 29, Rex Ryan was fired -- along with general manager John Idzik -- as head coach of the Jets after six seasons at the helm.
Now the head coach of the AFC East-rival Buffalo Bills, Ryan maintains that he has nothing but positive feelings towards the Jets organization and owner Woody Johnson.
"I had a million positive things from that," Ryan said in regard to his time with the Jets, according to NFL.com "Woody Johnson -- to me -- will always be a friend of mine. He's a guy that I respect. The man gave me a job when no one else (would).
"He's almost like a big brother and he was outstanding ... But he had no choice, he had to fire me. He had to blow it up to start again. He couldn't justify bringing me back again."
Ryan was one of the most beloved -- if not the most beloved -- coaches in franchise history, but he never made good on his promise to bring a championship to New Jersey.
The outspoken coach got Gang Green to back-to-back AFC championship games in his first two seasons with the Jets, but subsequently missed the playoffs each of the next four seasons.
Ryan posted a 46-50 record with the Jets, and was 4-2 in the playoffs.
