After dropping the season's final three games and failing to make the playoffs for the first time as head coach, some New York Jets fans are questioning the abilities of Rex Ryan amid the locker room chaos disclosed by Alabama rookie quarterback Greg McElroy this week.

When winning, Ryan's bravado and trash-talking ways were considered good for football as well as the New York Jets.

But after three seasons and failed predictions of a Super Bowl ring, many are now critical of Ryan as the Jets seem to be in a state of controversy and no closer to a championship than the day he was hired.

With a 28-20 record and overall record of 32-22, Rex Ryan has a lifetime winning percentage of .592 while having a .666 winning percentage in the playoffs (4-2). All of Ryan's wins came on the road and ended in consecutive losses in the AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers.

While Ryan no doubt had a disappointing 2011 season after so much hype and expectation, the Ryan resume stacks up quite well after three seasons against some of the most successful head coaches in NFL history.

Green Bay Packers coaching legend Vince Lombardi posted a 26-12 record and an overall 27-13 after three seasons. Lombardi had a .684 regular-season winning percentage while going .500 in his first two playoff games.

While having extraordinary success in New England with the Patriots, Belichick posted just a 20-28 record with no playoff wins in his first three seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
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Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry was just 9-28-3 in his first three seasons and didn't make the playoffs until his seventh season with the Dallas Cowboys. Former Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden was 28-9-4 for a .682 winning percentage including two playoff wins and two playoff losses in the old AFL.

Former NY Giants coaching legend Bill Parcells was just 22-25-1 with a .458 winning percentage while winning two-of-four playoff appearances in his initial three campaigns. Parcells' descendant Bill Belichick failed to make the playoffs as a head coach with the Cleveland Browns, while posting a mediocre 20-28 record in those three seasons.

Former Colts and Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula had an impressive 30-11-1 regular-season record for a .714 winning percentage while going 0-2 in his first two playoff games. San Francisco 49ers icon Bill Walsh was just 21-27 in his first three seasons, but went 16-3 in his third season to capture the franchise's first NFL Championship.

Like Walsh, former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs was very successful out of the gate with a 30-11 record, two NFC championships and a Super Bowl ring.

In his first three seasons, Gibbs had a .750 winning percentage while going 6-1 in the postseason.

Chuck Noll, arguably the greatest coach of the post-merger NFL, was just 12-30 for a .286 winning percentage and did not make the playoffs until his fourth season with the Steelers.

In the case of Noll, as well as Landry, both were in building programs from the ground up.

Of all of these Super Bowl champion coaches, only Don Shula and Joe Gibbs won more games while Ryan is tied with Madden at 28.

In terms of playoff wins, only Gibbs had more (6), but Gibbs already won a Super Bowl as well as Walsh with San Francisco.

In an era of immediate gratification and no tolerance for patience, Rex Ryan seems to be on a path of success.

While I'm not suggesting a Canton bust for Ryan, he clearly has demonstrated an ability to coach at a high level of success in the National Football League.

While 2011 will be a season to forget, Ryan has established himself as a winner with a franchise mired in failure for decades.

The New York Jets need to take a long look in the mirror this offseason.

Changes are certainly in order.

But those calling for Ryan's head need to look at the record as well as the progress of this interesting and controversial new face of the NFL's coaching ranks.