Rex Ryan is a goner.
The Jets players know it. The fans know it. Ryan knows it.
Next year at this time, Ryan either will be in a broadcast booth somewhere or coaching another team. This situation has created an interesting dynamic for the end of the 2014 season. At 2-10, does it matter if you win a few more games or should the final month be about figuring out which young guys can play for whoever is the coach next year?
That is the fine line Ryan is now walking. He is a proud coach, who has looked beaten down after recent losses. Clearly, he wants to win some games, but what is really the difference if the Jets finish 2-14 or 4-12? Some fans believe they would be better off losing anyway to wind up with a better draft pick.
That debate has raged over the past week when the Jets put Geno Smith back at quarterback, fueling the idea they were in evaluation mode … before having him throw just 13 times against the Dolphins, showing that winning still matters to Ryan.
"I want to win," Ryan said Wednesday. "I don't want to be 2-14. I can tell you that much. It's bad enough being 2-10."
Ryan has talked about playing younger players down the stretch, and they did give some rookies a little more time against the Dolphins. But Ryan won't tank the season to see how the draft picks look, nor should he.
He owes it to the players in the locker room still practicing and playing hard to do everything in his power to win games. That is exactly why he had the run-heavy attack Monday against Miami. You can debate whether that works in the NFL in 2014, but it nearly did for the Jets.
If Nick Folk looks like himself or Calvin Pace intercepts a pass that hits him in the hands, maybe everyone is praising Ryan and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg for the game plan.
Instead, because they lost and the season went down the tubes months ago, it's easy to pile on and make fun of the hapless Jets.
"I remember everybody was praising New England for running it however many times they ran it the other week and you have a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback in Tom Brady," Ryan said, referring to the Patriots' 42-20 victory over the Colts when they had 44 rushes. "They're a genius, we're not quite there."
The Jets are the worst passing team in the NFL with Smith or Michael Vick at quarterback. Running is their best option to win games. Everyone seems to forget that in their win over the Steelers last month, Vick threw the ball just 18 times.
So, evaluating Smith should be a priority in these final four weeks, just not the No. 1 priority.
"The winning is what it's all about," Ryan said. "The evaluating part is something that you want to do. Yes, we want to get some younger players in and opportunities to look at [them]. At the same time, when you game plan you game plan specifically to be successful and to win the game.
"Take Geno, for instance. It's not we're going to throw it 50 times to see what we have if it's not prudent to do so. If we think it's in our best interest to throw the ball 50 times, then that's great also."
Ryan sent a clear message on Monday night. This is not September at Citi Field. He is not putting the Triple-A call-ups in to figure out who gets a spring training invitation. Ryan is on his way out as the Jets head coach. He has won 48 games in his six years as the Jets coach. If he has his way, he will get a few more before cleaning out his office.
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