[13] However, head coach John Blake failed to achieve a winning record for a third straight year and subsequently, the entire staff was fired.

[16][17] Ryan went on to coach at three different colleges following his tenure with the Cardinals, though by the time he joined Kansas State in 1999, he was hopeful of a return to the NFL.

[24] Ryan also interviewed with Miami[23] and Atlanta[25] about filling their head coaching vacancies, but the offers went to Tony Sparano and Mike Smith respectively.

Ryan's nine-year tenure with the Ravens, during which the defense never ranked lower than sixth overall in the NFL, concluded an hour later when he accepted the head coaching position with the New York Jets.

[13][29] Following a late season collapse in which the Jets missed the playoffs after losing four of their final five games, the team fired head coach Eric Mangini on December 29, 2008.

[38] The team eventually recovered and won five of their final six games despite Ryan mistakenly stating the Jets had been eliminated from playoff contention following a loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

[42] New York defeated Cincinnati again the following week, this time at Paul Brown Stadium, in the AFC Wild Card playoff round by a score of 24–14.

[45] Ryan became embroiled in controversy a few days later when he made an obscene gesture towards heckling Dolphins fans who spat on him during a Strikeforce mixed martial arts event at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.

[49] Ryan continued to exude confidence in the team, writing on ESPN's training camp tour bus "Soon To Be Champs" in August, referencing that the Jets would make it to the Super Bowl and become the eventual champions.

[50][52] When the team appeared on the television series Hard Knocks that same month, Ryan was criticized, particularly by former head coach Tony Dungy, for his use of foul language.

[61] Wide receivers Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes, and Derrick Mason reportedly approached coach Ryan to question offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's system.

[63] Ryan attracted further attention to the team during a Sunday Night Football game against the New England Patriots when he responded to a heckling fan with an obscene remark and was fined $75,000 by the league.

[64] Despite struggling to an 8–7 record, the Jets still had the ability to attain a playoff berth if they won their regular season finale against the Miami Dolphins in combination with the outcome of three other games played that day.

[65] Then free agent running back LaDainian Tomlinson remarked that Ryan's Super Bowl predictions had an adverse effect on the locker room by placing undue pressure on the players.

[69] With Tebow inactive for the Jets' following contest against the Arizona Cardinals, Ryan made the decision to bench Sanchez, who threw three interceptions, in favor of Greg McElroy.

[74] Sanchez's struggles continued as the Jets fell to the Buffalo Bills and ended their year with a 6–10 record, their first losing season under Rex Ryan.

[91] Several players including Antonio Cromartie, Calvin Pace, and Willie Colon went on to publicly express their support for Ryan to return as coach.

[103] Frustrated by the Bills leading the NFL in penalties heading into their Week 5 game against the Tennessee Titans, Ryan gave the entire team wristbands with the message "Yes sir".

Following his dismissal by the Bills In 2016, Ryan signed an agreement with ESPN to provide analysis for the network's Super Bowl LI pregame and postgame shows.

[124] Despite his boisterous and brash comments that have caused increased media coverage of the team, Ryan has taken the attention and has managed to "[put] it on himself" so the players can focus on their tasks.

[2] As a testament to this philosophy, Ryan is often willing to defer the coin toss to the opponent so his team can begin the game playing on defense in order to "set the tone" and generate turnovers.

[143][144] The book, which was published by Doubleday in the spring of 2011, was co-written by Don Yaeger, a former Sports Illustrated editor who has co-authored the autobiographies of former NFL players Walter Payton and Warren Moon.

[145] In late 2010 as the Jets were preparing for the playoffs, a foot fetish video of a woman appearing to be Ryan's wife Michelle surfaced on various internet outlets.

The video features a clothed Michelle having her bare feet handled and commented on by an unseen camera operator with a voice similar to Rex's.

Multiple media reports soon linked the Ryans to a user profile named "ihaveprettyfeet"[146] on a site for alternative sexual lifestyles,[147] and more videos of Michelle emerged in the following months.

Ryan admitted to being a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as a result of growing up in the city, but upon taking the Jets head coaching job, he was often seen cheering for all three of the New York metropolitan area franchises.

[151] Outside of the playoff runs, Ryan performed a ceremonial puck drop at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on October 9, 2010,[152] wearing a vintage New York Islanders Billy Smith jersey.

[153] Ryan was known for a notorious incident at a Carolina Hurricanes game, as he attended the matchup with the Florida Panthers wearing a throwback Philadelphia Flyers jersey.

[156] On April 18, 2016, Ryan introduced Republican presidential candidate front-runner Donald Trump at one of his rallies held at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

"[159] In September 2017, Ryan stated on ESPN that President Trump's comments about how NFL owners should fire players who kneel during the national anthem were "appalling to almost any citizen in our country, it should be.