One inauguration down, one to go.
Of course, today's ceremony was for President Barack Obama. Wednesday's "inaugural" is merely a news conference to introduce the new head coach of the New York Jets, Rex Ryan.
But that's a very important position in this smaller NFL universe that includes the Atlantic Health Training Center, and it will be made officially official at the Ryan news conference, which begins at 10 a.m. and will be streamed live as usual on newyorkjets.com.
Green & White fans and "civilian" Jets employees aren't the only ones who haven't met Ryan face to face. He's new to most of the Jets players, too. Many are no longer in the North Jersey area, having scattered to their homes since the end of the regular season.
But cornerback Darrelle Revis, although a Pittsburgh (Aliquippa, actually) native, has shown the tendency to hang around the Jets' home in the off-season — last year Hofstra University, this year the AHTC. In fact, he said he'll be in the building during Ryan's first address to reporters and fans as the team's new football boss.
"The only thing I knew about Rex was that he was a defensive coordinator," Revis told me this afternoon. "I heard he has a personality, so that's good as well.
"This is the situation we're in," he added of the Jets' coaching move to Ryan. "Him stepping up to be a head coach is a big step for him, and we're behind him, supporting him. We're accepting our new coach."
Eric Allen will have a story a little later today on other Jets players' reaction to their new coach. And EA and I sat in our plush studio here early in the afternoon to talk with Chris Mortensen, the esteemed NFL reporter for ESPN. Mort reported many great observations and speculations about the Jets, Ryan, Brian Schottenheimer and Brett Favre that you'll want to listen in on. That edition of the "Jets Two-Minute Drive" radio show is now up on the site.
And you'll want to check out our site all day Wednesday because we'll have stories and features on the events of the day as the Jets welcome their 17th head coach since their inception in 1960. (The U.S., by comparison has had 11 presidents since '60.)
Needless to say, when a new coach comes in, he brings in new coaches with him and coaches who are still here will be leaving. We already know that quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll has gone to Cleveland to serve as Eric Mangini's offensive coordinator and there are whispers of other comings and goings, which we'll pass on to you when we can.
One who was saying his goodbyes today was defensive line assistant Bryan Cox. The tough-guy linebacker, who once took on Buffalo Bills fans at then-named Rich Stadium, played for the Jets on a broken leg (incredibly, if briefly, during Game 15 of the 2000 season vs. Detroit) and told it like it was for a short time as a Fox football commentator, has become an old softie, at least around the office.
"B" hugged people he knew for several years, people he was meeting for the first time. He admitted he's leaving the organization but didn't say where. But it wasn't a time for too many tears or froggy throats.
"I'm living the good life," he said several times. "Call me if you need anything."
Someday I may take him up on that. One never knows when one will run into B-Cox again in this unpredictable NFL universe.
