Yesterday, photos of Jets coach Rex Ryan's bicep tattoo of his wife wearing nothing but a Mark Sanchez jersey sent a wave of glee across the tri-state area. We called it the "Keyser Söze moment" for Ryan's tenure as Jets head coach, giving a strange insight into Ryan's deep loyalty for Sanchez (as well as his passionate love for his wife). But this was just as surprising for many Jets players: “I don’t think guys care at all,” defensive lineman Mike DeVito told the Post. “Guys have all kinds of tattoos. Rex is a great coach and that’s all we care about.”
Having said that, DeVito obviously was a bit taken aback by the tat, responding to questions about the tattoo on WFAN: “I can honestly say as a Christian man I do not know the answer to that question.” Several other players told the Post they too had no idea Ryan had the tattoo. A source confirmed to them that the tattoo was real, and the coach had gotten it shortly after the 2010 season, well before Sanchez starting regressing as a quarterback.
But while most of the coverage yesterday was devoted to mocking the oddly-done ink—or speculating about whether Michelle Ryan was Tebowing—things have been decidedly sweeter today, as you can tell by the Post's back cover. They gave over two articles today to defending Ryan's love for his wife: "Since when have we gone so crazily over the line as a society that it’s possible to be too in love with your wife?" wrote Mike Vaccaro. "These are two people who still seem awfully fond of each other even after 25 years of marriage. And that’s supposed to be a bad thing? Really?"
Not that Ryan's outsized affections have changed the fact that some want him gone: "Ryan is probably the only NFL head coach with his quarterback's jersey inked on his arm. It's just not a good look for a person in charge of running the team and brings more unwanted headlines to the Jets, a team already viewed as a national circus."
Ryan, who has been hanging out in the Bahamas for most of the last week, will finally address the media on Tuesday. You can probably expect him to make some mention of the strange tat, even if he's not going to appear on Ink Master anytime soon.
