The green-striped ties were in full effect today as the Jets introduced Rex Ryan to New York. Darrelle Revis was in the front row as Ryan called him the best corner in the league, and Revis blinked twice under his grey fedora.

Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum sat at the front of the auditorium, and Tannenbaum discretely scanned the crowd’s response during Ryan’s laugh lines. There were quite a few. Revis said he noticed the coach’s confidence sense af humor and confidence. That was particularly clear when Ryan’s first statement alluded to a promised Super Bowl. It came once the applause died down after Johnson’s intro.

“First off with all the cameras and all that I was looking for our new president back there,” Ryan said. “You know, I think we’ll get to meet him the next couple years anyway.”

It’s full circle because Ryan was a kid when he watched the Jets win Super Bowl III, with his father Buddy as defensive coordinator.

There was a lot of news today, so I’ll try to hit the big points.

Mike Pettine, the former Ravens outside linebackers coach, was named the new defensive coordinator. Bob Sutton is still technically with the Jets, although if he stays on it will be in another role.

Mike Westhoff will stay as special teams coach. Not only that, but Westhoff did interview for the head coaching job early on and wanted it. He said that he understood pretty quickly it wasn’t the direction Johnson and Tannenbaum wanted to go in.

Ryan said he will meet with Brian Schottenheimer soon to discuss the offensive coordinator position. Ryan said he could relate to Schottenheimer’s disappointment after not getting the Baltimore job last year. Bill Callahan will stay as well.

Ah, Brett Favre. Ryan said he would wait to talk to the quarterback before making any decisions but said that any coach would be happy to have Favre as his quarterback. Tannenbaum said Favre’s job at this point was to keep hunting, prompting Johnson to ask exactly how long was hunting season in Louisiana anyway?

David Harris limped into the auditorium on crutches. He sustained the left ankle injury in the last game of the season.

Jerricho Cotchery defended Favre against the other Jets who expressed after the season. “Mr. Anonymous,” Cotchery said. “I need to find out who that is, but the entire team doesn’t feel that way.”

Rex Ryan won’t be officially introduced until tomorrow, but he was on the job in Florham Park yesterday afternoon. In the morning, team owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum went to Baltimore to pick Ryan up and bring him to his new office.

Ryan has a lot to think about, including whether to try to coax back a quarterback who appears reluctant to return. What is Ryan’s most pressing priority?

The Jets have not made it official yet, but Rex Ryan will be the new head coach. Most likely the official press conference will wait until after the inauguration. How do you like that? Should he keep offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, whose chances of being named HC would have shot up if Baltimore won.

Update: Terms are four years and $11.5 million, according to numerous outlets, which is what my sources have confirmed.

Update: Jets made it official and will introduce him at 10 a.m. Wednesday. More details later…

Things are getting started in earnest now that Baltimore’s season is over. Rex Ryan is the man the Jets have chosen to fill the vacant head coach position, and now come the details. An announcement could be followed by a press conference, perhaps as soon as midweek, but a lot has to happen between now and then.

Several sources are reporting that Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been tapped to coach the Rams—this as Giants fans were starting to breathe a sigh of relief that Spags might be back with them.

This explains the secret Tuesday meeting with Woody Johnson. Perhaps Spags’ agent wanted to get him in front of Johnson as a way to drive up the price, and the Jets later leaked their lack of interest so as not to be a bargaining chip. After all, if the Jets wanted Spags he was there for the offering.

So Spags is out of the running, which leaves Rex Ryan and Brian Schottenheimer as your two front runners. Never a dull Saturday night on the Jets beat.

Update: 8:35 p.m.: The Giants made it official.

“Obviously, it’s a great opportunity for him,” said Justin Tuck. “We are happy for him. He has done a lot for this organization in his short time here. Winning a Super Bowl in your first year as defensive coordinator is pretty impressive. I really think he has the skills necessary to be a successful head coach. He’s a hard worker and he quickly gained the respect of all his players. We wish him all the best.”

In the interest of shameless self and cross promotion, I sat down with The Jets Blog’s Brian Bassett today and, under a single lightbulb swinging from a string, subjected myself to an interrogation about the Jets.

We talked about what it was like to cover the team for the first time this season, and what the future might hold for the team. I (photo, right in more shameless self-promotion) even made a prediction—that Brett Favre will not be back for the Jets next season.

Here is the interview, if you haven’t already bookmarked it to your favorites.

As for the coaching search, watch the games Sunday very closely. If Baltimore loses, we may have a new coach coming your way soon!

Woody Johnson, who was out of the country for the start of the Jets coaching search, has conducted the follow up interview with Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. It happened on Tuesday at Johnson’s Manhattan office, but Spags’ agent apparently didn’t want it to be public at the time. Spagnuolo is being interviewed by the Rams and Lions for head coaching vacancies there.

The Jets coaching search, however, is ongoing said a source close to the team.

Spagnuolo’s team (as New York fans are undoubtedly aware) is out of the playoffs. That means that the Jets could make him an offer if he were there No. 1 choice. They have not, so a conclusion is not difficult to draw there.

Why wait… unless you are looking to hire someone whose team is still alive in the playoffs—such as Baltimore D.C. Rex Ryan. (Whether or not he keeps Brian Schottenheimer on as offensive coordinator.)

The Jets, who have reportedly settled on Mr. Rex Ryan as the leading candidate for the coaching position once held by Eric Mangini, are in a holding pattern. I find it interesting that Woody Johnson has not yet met with Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo yet, but if the team was ready to hire him there isn’t much to hold them back now.

So in the meantime, how’s this for a game—which assistant coaches should be kept? I imagine any new coach will have to consider Mike Westhoff on special teams and Jimmy Raye (left) for running backs. All the players I’ve spoken to have only excellent things to say about those two. But there are others, DC Bob Sutton and OC Brian Schottenheimer.

Yes, Joe B. is right, there isn’t a lot of hard news coming out of Florham Park right now, more whispers and speculation. But here’s a little something I did on players who sit out of the game for a year in college and I talked to Mike DeVito.
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In his first year at Maine, Jets defensive end Mike DeVito had a job to do every game. With his family in the stands watching, the Suffern-born DeVito was given the difficult and important task of getting water for all the defensive players on the football team.

He was redshirted his freshman year, meaning that he wasn’t going to play a minute even though he was part of the team. It wasn’t how he envisioned things going as a college football player, but Maine had a talented cast at his position, including San Diego linebacker Stephen Cooper.

“It was hard to crack that rotation, but I think it was the best thing I could’ve done,” said DeVito, who just finished up his second year in the NFL after the Jets picked him up as an undrafted free agent. “Not only did I get used to the speed of the game, but it helped with my studies.”

There are plenty of reasons why a player might have to sit out a season. CHSAA players can’t play the year they transfer in. The NCAA has similar rules about transfers so that the best players don’t just trade up after a successful year or, like Maine did with DeVito, colleges have the option of keeping an athlete from playing his or her first year, a process known as redshirting.

The Jets could be ready to make a choice, but if it’s going to be Rex Ryan, they will have to wait. Jets fans have been through a lot this offseason, and I’m sure a lot of them want a happy ending on this story as soon as possible. (Unlike the sad melting clock by Dali.)

There are still offseason contracts to be signed and the curious case of the indecisive quarterback, who hasn’t been tipping his hand publicly or, it seems, privately. Those close to the team are bracing the fans for a longer search.

“This is an important choice and the Jets are going to take the time necessary to make sure it is the right choice,” said a source familiar with the coaching search. “The team is seeking a passionate, dynamic leader that can create a winning atmosphere where players enjoy coming to work and are held accountable.”

It was not meant to be a swipe at Eric Mangini, but the Jets ex-coach wasn’t necessarily beloved in the locker room, certainly not in his first year. The Jets brass need to pull in a coach that can motivate the pricey veterans on the team like LB Calvin Pace and NT Kris Jenkins. That won’t happen with a coordinator looking to establish himself as a disciplinarian.

Are you ready for the wait?

And p.s.: Thanks to everyone who came out in the snow to watch the Snow Bunnies crush the Ice Queens. The storm helped the bout live up to the name, Frost Bites!

Forgive the posts with warm titles, but it is so cold up here. So judging from your comments, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuola is someone that a lot of fans would like to see named as Jets head coach. Turns out, the Jets aren’t the only team asking him in. The Rams and the Lions are reportedly seeking an audience with the white-hot future HC.

This is sure to cause a bit of a bidding war for him, not that it should be a problem for team owner Woody Johnson. At least Spags wouldn’t count against the cap.

If, on the other hand, the Jets are leaning towards Rex Ryan, take a seat. Ryan’s Ravens could be a while.