For the New York Jets and head coach Rex Ryan, 2012 was a forgettable year and apparently Ryan is ready and willing to forget all about it.
After being asked about 2012, Ryan emphatically told the Daily News, "I don't give a s--t about last year. I'm tired of talking about it."
The Jets were an abysmal 6-10 last season, a record worse than their 8-8 finish two years ago and a far cry from their back-to-back trips to the AFC Championship Game in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. The success that the Jets had under Ryan in his first two years has simmered into mediocrity and its highly touted running game and defense has fallen by the wayside.
A lot of the blame has fallen on the shoulders of signal caller Mark Sanchez who will be in a competition with recently signed rookie and 2013 second round draft pick Geno Smith for the starting quarterback position.
If the Jets don't perform well in their fifth season under Ryan, the coach's future could be in serious jeopardy, though it is believed Ryan's future is safe for now. Ryan isn't worried about his future just yet and is taking 2013 as a new opportunity.
"I'm not worried about being a lame-duck guy," Ryan said according to NFL.com. "I'm not worried about that. I am not. I look at this as an opportunity."
Ryan's fate after this season won't be solely decided by first-year general manager John Idzik, as it is widely believed Jets owner Woody Johnson will make the final call on whether or not Ryan will coach the Jets for a sixth year following this season.
Despite great success in his first two years at the helm, the Jets have become a train wreck and a media circus under Ryan's leadership the past few years. While Ryan recognizes that fact, he doesn't feel any desire to talk about it and has no plans to give up on his team.
"Look, I'm disappointed in the product that we put on the field both personally [and for] our fans," he said, according to NFL.com. "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."
If the Jets struggle this year, it won't solely fall on Ryan's shoulders as the talent they have on the field pales in comparison to the players Ryan had to turn to in the back-to-back years the team fell one win shy of a Super Bowl appearance. Still, even with a lack of talent and depth, Ryan feels confident in his coaching ability.
"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 TheMMQB. "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"
There's no telling what the future will hold for Ryan, but for now he's done talking about the past.
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