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NEW YORK JETS
Rex Ryan

New York Jets fire Rex Ryan and John Idzik

Lorenzo Reyes
USA TODAY
Ryan spent six seasons as the Jets' head coach.

The New York Jets ended the Rex Ryan era, but already, the franchise is moving forward.

After a 4-12 season, the Jets fired Ryan and general manager John Idzik, the team announced Monday morning.

"I did it because with the disappointing year, I wanted to make some changes and I want to win consistently," Johnson said Monday in a press conference. "We're in the win business, and we're not winning, so I thought this was something I had to do. I didn't get into football to do this, but this was a necessary step."

Now, the search for replacements begins immediately. Johnson said general manager is the priority and in an ideal situation, he'd want to install Idzik's successor before making a decision on a head coach. The search committee comprises Johnson and former NFL general managers Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf, whom the Jets hired as consultants.

Johnson said he already has a short list of preferred candidates and that the search committee reached out to all of them on Monday.

All things Jets: Latest New York Jets news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

The next two weeks could impact the franchise for the next decade. To make the process easier, Johnson outlined what he's looking for in an ideal head coach.

"I'm looking for a guy that is a good manager, and that can inspire the team," Johnson said. "You have to be able to manage offense, defense, special teams. Establish what the goals and opportunities are in each area and making sure that each coach is accountable for the performance of their players.

"You've got to be somewhat of a detail-oriented person. Go through this season. Look at every play. Look at every assignment. Analyze each player and each play and see what went right, what went wrong. 'What can I do better?' "

Ryan, whose reputation is as a defensive specialist, was 46-50 in six seasons with the Jets.

He helped lead the franchise to consecutive AFC Championship Games in 2009-10, his first seasons with New York. Every year since then, the Jets have missed the playoffs and have failed to develop the talent on their roster, especially at quarterback.

Mark Sanchez, the 2009 No. 5 overall draft pick, was supposed to blossom into New York's franchise signal caller. When the Jets failed to complete that objective, Ryan got one more chance in the form of Geno Smith, a 2013 second-round selection.

Smith's inconsistencies and lack of production hurt New York's chances in the last two years, and though the team added Michael Vick to a one-year contract, there's serious doubt that the team's quarterback of the future is on its current roster.

But it's not only New York's offense that has regressed under Ryan. The team's defense – long known as his strength – struggled this season due to aging and key departures, ranking 24th in the league in points allowed.

Idzik's tenure will be marked by an inability to hit on draft picks, squandered cap space, and perhaps most of all, a failure at quarterback. With Idzik only getting two seasons to transform the franchise, his firing is the admission of a mistake.

Having been a salary cap specialist and without a background in scouting, Idzik's missteps left the team with several holes on the roster. On Monday, Johnson said it's "probably right" to expect New York's new general manager to have an extensive background in player evaluation.

Perhaps the most glaring need on the roster under Idzik was at cornerback, where the Jets had career backups at the position all year, despite having a little more than $20 million in available cap space. New York released Antonio Cromartie and pursued several high-profile players at the position during free agency, but they opted to sign elsewhere.

"We didn't spend every dollar we had because (Idzik) had a plan for that, to sign players that didn't get signed," John son said. "Maybe we should have spent more – we probably should have."

Now a complete rebuild looms. The team's assistant coaching staff and front office personnel still under contract will need to interview for their jobs once the general manager and head coach are in place. But for the Jets, the priority is finding Idzik's replacement.

"Ultimately I'm going to be ​the one who hires the head coach, but I'll listen to the general manager," Johnson said.

Ryan is expected to be a candidate for other head coaching jobs, but could also field offers to join television broadcasts.

Johnson hired Idzik in Jan. 2013 to replace former general manager Mike Tanennbaum. In Idzik's two years with the team, New York went 12-20.

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