Don’t cry for Jets coach Rex Ryan when he’s inevitably fired in four weeks. He’ll do just fine without a coaching job.
Ryan, who’s always quick with a quote and would be a natural for a TV job, will make $3 million to $5 million a year if he decides to go the media route next year, industry sources told Richard Deitsch of SI.com. PFT has separately heard that a multimillion-dollar TV offer was being readied for Ryan around this time last year, before Jets owner Woody Johnson decided to keep Ryan for another season.
“He pretty much has everything TV networks would look for. He has personality, he’s not shy about his opinions, and he’s a colorful character,” ESPN senior coordinating producer Seth Markman told Deitsch. “I think he would be successful whether it is in studio or doing games. When I close my eyes and listen to him I hear a little bit of John Madden in him. There is going to be a lot of interest in Rex if that is what he wants to do.”
That kind of money may make Ryan think long and hard about whether he even wants to keep coaching after he’s fired, as he surely will be at the end of this season. And it almost certainly means Ryan wouldn’t take a defensive coordinator job next season.
Ryan was jovial as usual when asked today about the talk that he’ll be sought-after by TV networks in a few weeks.
“I have no idea,” Ryan said. “It must be how handsome I am.”
Making millions of dollars a year as a broadcaster will put Ryan in a position much like Jon Gruden: He’ll remain a prominent figure in the NFL world, and his name will continue to be mentioned when coaching vacancies open. But he won’t be in any hurry to take a coaching job, until he’s sure it’s the right job.