Rex Ryan getting the Jets gig

[Mr. Scot]

Being reported by Chris Mortensen in the wake of the Ravens playoff loss.

Sources: Jets choose Ravens' Ryan

[frash.exe]

good luck rexy

[Kevin Greene]

Ravens defensive assistant Pettine hired as Jets' defensive coordinator

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The Mad Scientist brought his lab partner with him.

Shortly after becoming head coach of the New York Jets on Monday, Rex Ryan made sure Mike Pettine came with him as his defensive coordinator. Pettine was on Baltimore's staff as a defensive assistant for seven years, including the last four as the Ravens' outside linebackers coach.

"He and I were just kind of drawn to each other right from the beginning," Pettine said in an introductory conference call Thursday. "We joke with each other that we don't know if we could survive without each other."

Ryan, nicknamed "The Mad Scientist" for his aggressive and unpredictable game plans as Baltimore's defensive coordinator, had high praise for Pettine in his introductory news conference Wednesday. The two will work together again, trying to improve a Jets defense that ranked 16th overall last season but 29th against the pass.

"To steal a cliche, the cupboard isn't bare," Pettine said. "There's definitely some things to work with. Between free agency and the draft, I feel confident that we'll put a pretty good defense on the field."

Pettine and Ryan will bring a playmaking, high-energy style of defense to the Jets, but they will let the players they have determine the overall style of the unit. That's a departure from the inflexible approach taken the last three years by Eric Mangini.

"One thing about our system is it's player-driven," Pettine said. "We've always been of the mind-set of you fit your system to the players, not the players to the system. We're not going to come in with the playbook and say we're squeezing the New York Jets' personnel into the Baltimore Ravens' playbook."

Pettine replaces Bob Sutton, who could be reassigned within the organization.

Pettine said the Ravens ran a base 3-4 defense but refused to label it as such because of the frequent movement and rearranging of linebackers. He'll institute a similar philosophy with the Jets.

"We ended up being really more of a 3 1/2-3 1/2," Pettine said. "When people say we're in a 3-4, we always laughed about that."

Pettine inherits a Jets defense that had a promising start in 2008, with 29 sacks in its first eight games but just 12 in the last half of the season. The secondary also might need a makeover after ranking 29th overall against the pass despite having Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis and established playmaking safety Kerry Rhodes.

The run defense, which ranked seventh overall, didn't allow a 100-yard rusher through its first 11 games. But nose tackle Kris Jenkins played through a herniated disk, and New York allowed three players to go over 100 rushing yards in its last five games.

Should be real interesting in Jet land this year.