Rex Ryan isn’t sure if Santonio Holmes and Mark Sanchez have met up and taken a little weekend bonding retreat yet.
But the Jets head coach is confident that his quarterback and receiver will be able to mend their relationship.
“The one thing about those two guys that they have a lot in common, they are both competitive guys and both had success in this league,” Ryan said in his press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “Maybe Sanchez hasn’t quite had the success that Santonio has being a Super Bowl champion but he has had some success. It’s not like they haven’t been successful before in the past together. I really think there is enough in common right there that they will fix this.”
MAN IN THE MIRROR: Ryan spent a lot of time saying he has used much of the offseason to reflect on his coaching and how to get better. He regretted guaranteeing that the Jets were going to win the Super Bowl here at last year’s Combine and said it had a negative impact on the team.
“I had time, unfortunately, this offseason, a lot more time than I am used to, to go back and look at how I can improve,” Ryan said. “There will be other changes but I am not going to get into them.”
“Looking back it is hard to say truthfully that wasn’t a contributing factor,” he said of his guarantee. “I definitely felt that it did place some undue pressure on our team. The one positive thing that came out of the season is we are going to learn from our mistakes.”
NOT SO HAPPY REX: Ryan was asked how he felt about backup quarterback Greg McElroy’s offseason comments about a "corrupt mindset" in the Jets locker room and "extremely selfish individuals" on the team.
“I was angry about it,” Ryan said. “I never agreed with all the statements he made and things. You know, hey, the thing about our football team that separates, that maybe we are different than other teams is we are truly a transparent organization. You're going to know a lot about the New York Jets in the great times but you're also going to know a lot about us in the not so good times.”
“That's just one man's opinion,” Ryan added. “I'll listen to everything. I don't think it was the way it's portrayed out there that we had a huge problem. There's no question that we had some problems with some individuals. But we're going to fix it.”
When asked if the Jets are placing extra focus on acquiring a backup quarterback to push Sanchez, Ryan joked, “Well, with McElroy’s comments, absolutely.”