Jets coach Rex Ryan discussed two of his big off-season moments—Flipping the bird while in Miami and showing off his belly while at a hockey game—at the NFL Scouting Combine yesterday. "I am no Boy Scout and I don't pretend to be. But I am certainly trying to mature a little bit more," he said.
His middle finger moment that cost him $50,000. He also said, "Regardless of the circumstances"—he was reportedly being harassed by a fellow mixed martial arts spectator—"I made a mistake and I realized that. I have made a bunch of mistakes in my life. Just add that to a big list. But I have to take responsibility for my own actions and make sure I am doing the right things. I will learn from it."
As for his gut being caught on ESPN (Ryan was given a Hurricanes jersey to change into), “I’m watching ESPN and I’m like, ‘Whoa, that’s not a real good shot.’ Yeah, I don’t know. That was kind of crazy. Don’t get me wrong, I get hit on all the time by women in New York. But, nah, it is kind of funny." You can see how funny it is here:
But Ryan added that the media attention is a big change: "I used to go into New York all the time and nobody recognized me. I guess they assumed that the head coach of the Jets wouldn't be wearing a throwback (jersey) or something, but that's who I am. That's not going to change. I'm going to be who I am. I'm still going to take the train into the city. I'm going to be true to myself and that's the way it's going to be as long as I'm a coach."
According to the NFL's blog, Ryan "held court before what amounted to at least 100 media members, drawing choruses of laughter on several occasions. It’s the first time at this combine that nearly every seat has been filled, with reporters also standing on both sides. Listening to Ryan is worth the price of admission."
