Rex Ryan Leading the Pack for the New York Jets' Head Coaching Job

No Bill Cowher? No problem, according to the New York Jets, as it appears that Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan has become the favorite to replace Eric Mangini as the team’s head coach; the report originally came from Dave Hutchinson of the Newark Star-Ledger.

Specifically, team owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum met with Ryan for five hours on Sunday in Baltimore and apparently, both sides got along famously.

Should the Jets hire Ryan, it will be interesting—to say the least—to see what happens to offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer; he was the original front-runner for the Jets’ job.

But without a doubt because Ryan’s strong suit is defense, they would want to keep Scottenheimer so the offense keeps some resemblance of continuity.

As of this writing, the Jets have interviewed Schottenheimer, Ryan, NY Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, team offensive line coach Bill Callahan, Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, former Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski, Arizona Cardinals assistant head coach Rus Grimm and Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks.

Stay tuned to NFL Gridiron Gab as more developments become available.