For any member of Jet Nation not paying attention these past two days, Rex Ryan has a tattoo. Of his wife. In a (presumably) Mark Sanchez jersey (and not, say, a Ray Lucas jersey).<\/p>\n
This was discovered when, after the Jets failed to host a press conference within the acceptable amount of time after the final game of the regular season, Rex Ryan took a vacation to the Bahamas with his wife and the New York Daily News had someone take paparazzi-like photos of him with his shirt off.<\/p>\n
As mentioned, the \u201cstory\u201d was \u201cbroken\u201d by the Daily News, which had three articles on it, including one by Gary Myers that seemed to be seriously analyzing whether or not the tattoo was going to adversely affect the Jets locker room. Yes, really<\/a>. That this is even an issue says more about the Daily News than it does about Rex Ryan, and hopefully Rex will come away from this more fully aware that newspapers are not really on his side.<\/p>\n But for now, here we are.<\/p>\n No matter what anyone says, there\u2019s no correlation between Ryan\u2019s ink and his leadership ability. The New York Post reported today that the tattoo, which some thought might be Ryan pranking us all, is real and he\u2019s had it since the end of the 2010 season. Further, the coaches and even some players knew about it. Nobody thought it was a big deal<\/a>, and think it\u2019s funny a tattoo has caused so much uproar.<\/p>\n Rex Ryan\u2019s poor choice in jersey numbers (or maybe his wife\u2019s, if she picked it out) is not an indication of why the team isn\u2019t united enough, or performed poorly, or whatever other charges you want to level at them. Former Eagles\u2019 head coach Andy Reid\u2019s son was found dead of a heroin overdose<\/a> in the dorms the team was using during training camp this past year. \u00a0Did we hear anybody saying things like, \u201cIf Reid can\u2019t control his son, how can he control a football team?\u201d No, because it\u2019s a stupid leap to make. A tattoo is far more trivial.<\/p>\n The Jets have brought a lot of this unwanted, everything\u2019s-blown-out-of-proportion attention on themselves the last few years. It\u2019s not just the press conference. It\u2019s the talking, the guarantees, being a bit too open with the press, never taking the final step, Tim Tebow, standing by motionlessly as Mark Sanchez became a shell of even his former, mediocre self \u2013 it\u2019s all created an environment where everything is happening under a microscope.<\/p>\n Rex Ryan deserves a ton of football criticism for the way the Jets were handled this year, particularly the offense, which was an unmitigated disaster. Mike Tannenbaum being fired and not demoted was a miracle. Why offensive coordinator Tony Sparano hasn\u2019t been fired yet is a mystery.<\/p>\n But really? Full stories analyzing Rex\u2019s tattoo because the team skipped a press conference and rescheduled it a week later? Stalking him (and his wife, no less) to the Bahamas? Is Rex Ryan really so interesting we need pictures of him with his shirt off? The answer is no.<\/p>\n If we\u2019re guessing, the press conference was probably postponed because Ryan\u2019s job is in limbo depending on the new GM hire (which is close to officially being Tom Gamble, from news that\u2019s breaking today<\/a>). Plus, the Jets probably figured they\u2019d have hired someone new by the time the presser took place (which looks to be true at this moment) to talk about the future of the team.<\/p>\n Finally, Rex Ryan having a tattoo of his wife \u2013 and that\u2019s what this is, a tattoo of his WIFE, no matter what she\u2019s wearing \u2013 isn\u2019t a scandal. In fact, it\u2019s really none of our business. That Rex is still so in love with his wife after 25 years of marriage he\u2019d get her tattooed on his arm is something to be applauded, not criticized, especially during an era where there\u2019s no end to the bad behavior athletes and coaches engage in. Mike Price’s story<\/a> is my favorite in recent memory.<\/p>\n