Rex Ryan made this bed, which none of the Jets apparently can sleep in right now.
This is what happens when you let the inmates run the asylum, and Ryan better step in now and become the warden.
Apparently the Jets still think they have to mug for the HBO “Hard Knocks” cameras.
Except this time, the hard knocks are happening inside their locker room.
Once your own begin pointing fingers at one another, once there is sniping that signals division from within, then Ryan has to redefine his no muzzle-freedom of speech philosophy for the inmates in his asylum.
It would also serve him well to bring in previous Jets captains — or maybe Hall of Fame Giant Harry Carson — to explain to Santonio Holmes exactly how the man who wears the “C” is expected to go about his business. Or maybe he can call his friend Joe Girardi — who showed Mark Sanchez how to slide, remember? — and ask him to send Captain Derek Jeter over for a tutorial.
Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer need to stop acting like ostriches and get their heads out of the sand and put an end to this madness before it is too late and a Super Bowl dream is shattered even before Halloween.
Ryan can talk until he is green and white in the face about how competitive Holmes is and how much he wants to win. But when a respected leader like offensive lineman Brandon Moore takes offense to Holmes’ public floggings, then it is time to restore order.
This isn’t boxing, where anything goes. This is a team sport, where Santonio Holmes is supposed to have Brandon Moore’s back, and Brandon Moore is supposed to have Santonio Holmes’ back. “Play like a Jet” is what Ryan calls it.
What we are witnessing now is “Fray like a Jet.”
The Jets made Holmes their top priority in free agency, rewarded him with that five-year, $50 million contract to help Sanchez take that next step. Ryan honoring Holmes with a “C” on his chest seemed like a good idea at the time, giving a star player trying to distance himself from his troubled past ownership in the team.
Except it appears Holmes has mistaken the “C” for Coach, or Coordinator, or, if you were to ask Moore today, something much, much harmful to a football team’s health.
What’s next? Schottenheimer griping to his offensive line he can’t call deep passes because the receivers aren’t getting any separation? Bart Scott wailing he “can’t wait” for the offense to convert a third down so the defense can rest?
All of this “Romper Room” behavior isn’t only a referendum on Ryan’s leadership, but his poor quarterback’s as well. It is a direct slap at Sanchez, because his recent impassioned plea for unity clearly has fallen on deaf ears. He is a victim of his own stature — he has nowhere the clout that Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, etc., has, nor should he be expected to — and the Good Guys Finish Last Syndrome. His off-the-field passes have fallen incomplete, and it is disrespectful to him that they have.
It has been difficult enough for the Jets to overcome Bill Belichick and Brady and the Patriots. They have no chance like this.
Owner Woody Johnson, and Ryan, proudly told us a big reason why they consented to “Hard Knocks” in the summer of 2010 was they had nothing to hide. Which is a refreshing departure from the programmed, buttoned-up Sgt. Schultz mantra that has been a staple of professional sports teams.
Except when you have plenty you need to hide.
Ryan needs to take the bull by the horn, and right now. Giants coach Tom Coughlin has his trusted Leadership Council again. Ryan needs to appoint a leadership council of one — himself.
He needs to be Emotional Rex, the coach for whom they will run through brick walls for, the coach for whom everybody wants to play.
Emotional Rex, for his emotional wrecks.