June Is When It All Really Kicks Off for Rex Ryan's New York Jets

June is probably the quietest month in the NFL.

There are no games played, very few free agency signings, and the draft has been and gone. Maybe this is why rookie head coach Rex Ryan chose this month to make sure his New York Jets team is making all the noise in the fiercely competitive AFC East.

Whilst most rookie coaches have kept their heads in their clipboards; Ryan has been telling everyone who will listen that his team will be a force to be reckoned with.

His swagger and confidence may not have been well received by others but there is something refreshing about Ryan’s approach. He has not only helped install a new system to his team but a new attitude too.

The methods imparted by previous coach Eric Mangini starkly contrast Ryan’s views and perhaps this has kept the new man’s tenure in the spotlight.

Mangini, a Bill Belichick disciple, guarded his team from the media and seemed far less approachable than Ryan. The new coach has given his players license to express themselves off the field and hopes this will transfer onto it.

Ryan has been criticised for his public outbursts but you cannot help but feel its how the former Baltimore man talks in private too. With Ryan, what you see is what you get. His honesty will serve as a valuable weapon should any media volleys head his way.

Behind the happy-go-lucky, larger-than-life exterior, there is a serious core to Ryan’s work.

He knows that his job is under more scrutiny than most, particularly from the New York media. He is also inheriting a much stronger team than other rookie coaches such as Jim Schwartz or Todd Haley. Add an expensive rookie quarterback into the mix and it soon becomes clear that there is much expected of Ryan.

He will not be required to re-build the Jets but instead build on a team coming off the back of a 9-7 season.

The whole Channing Crowder affair has been more comical than malicious. These verbal spars tend to be hyped up in an extensive offseason bereft of any action on the field.

Aside from the absurd threats of violence, there was an interesting point to come out of the dispute. Ryan’s admission that you win titles in June is partially true if it’s not taken as literally as Crowder took it.

Preparation is undoubtedly important, particularly for a rookie coach. The Jets need as much time on the practice field as possible; the physical and mental work done in June will have a big bearing on how the season pans out.

As the saying goes, fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Whatever happens this season, the Jets will be Ryan’s team and he has made it clear he will not shy from confrontations.

There is something admirable about a man who puts himself on the line like Ryan does. These men are the ones who are showered with praise when things go well but they are also the first to face the music when things go wrong.

Only time will tell if the man making all the noise in June will still be as vocal come January, but the confidence Rex Ryan has displayed in his team is encouraging.