Seth Ryan says Jets homecoming means a lot to his family

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Seth Ryan was a 16-year-old ball boy the last time the New York Jets made the playoffs. Now he’s back as their passing-game coordinator, hoping to end the 15-year drought while adding to his family’s rich legacy with the franchise.

“I’m not blind to the fact how much this really means to myself and my family,” Ryan said Wednesday after an OTA practice — his first media availability since being hired in February. “This is an organization I’ve been trying to get to for my career.”

Ryan is the third generation of his family to coach for the Jets. His father, Rex Ryan, was the head coach from 2009 to 2014. His grandfather, Buddy Ryan, was the defensive line coach from 1968 to 1975. Both were considered defensive masterminds.

In Buddy’s first year, the Joe Namath-led Jets won the Super Bowl. In Rex’s first year, the team reached the AFC Championship Game (and did it again the following year). The Jets, coming off a 3-14 season, could use some of that old Ryan magic.

“It’s huge,” Rex Ryan, now an analyst with ESPN, said in a phone interview. “When I had the opportunity to be the head coach, I chose the Jets over another team because the Jets were my dad’s team. My dad always wore his Jets [Super Bowl] ring. He never wore the Bears ring. He was proud to be a Jet. So this is [Seth’s] team, too. This is the team he wanted to coach. What he’s going to add to that franchise is going to be incredible. That’s a smart son of a gun now.”

Buddy Ryan, who died in 2016, was the defensive coordinator for the 1985 Chicago Bears, who had arguably the best defense in history.

Unlike Rex and Buddy, both known for their bravado, Seth wasn’t about to make any bold predictions.

“We’re going to do the best we can,” he said, smiling. “That’s what you’re going to get from me.”

Seth Ryan, 32, appeared a bit nervous — he hasn’t had much media exposure over his coaching career — but he did manage to crack a joke.

“This means a lot to our family, and in my family we have kind of a saying with all coaches,” he began. “My grandfather told my dad, ‘I need you to be a little bit better than me.’ My dad told me, ‘I need you to be better than me.'”

Pause.

“So I chose offense to make sure that was going to happen.”

Ryan spent the past five seasons as an assistant on the Detroit Lions, including a four-year overlap with current Jets coach Aaron Glenn. When Glenn revamped his offensive staff after last season, he called on Ryan to work alongside new offensive coordinator Frank Reich.

Glenn recently gave Ryan a public shoutout, saying, “Just keep your eye on him. Just telling you that right now. He’s going to be a hell of a coach.” New quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave said of Ryan, “Seth’s a hard worker and we’re getting some Detroit Lions wrinkles, which will be fun to put in action.”

This is a true homecoming for Ryan, who attended high school in nearby Summit, New Jersey. He spent a lot of time around the Jets, hanging around the players, the coaches and his dad. He always felt it was his destiny to be a coach.

“I mean, it’s all I know,” he said. “I grew up in it with my dad; he grew up with my grandfather. It’s all I’ve ever known, so this is normal for us and so I’m glad that I can still be representing the Ryan family in the NFL.”

Ryan recalled the first time he walked into the facility and saw his new office. Part of his childhood came rushing back to him.

“This means a lot to our family, and in my family we have kind of a saying with all coaches. My grandfather told my dad, ‘I need you to be a little bit better than me.’ My dad told me, ‘I need you to be better than me. So I chose offense to make sure that was going to happen.”

Seth Ryan

“I was just like, ‘Man, I remember all these memories of being a kid, running around the indoor facility and just going out to practice and some of the guys — David Harris, Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw [Ferguson], [Darrelle] Revis — all those guys I grew up with.

“In that first rookie minicamp practice, it was like, ‘Man, it’s just a blessing to be here.'”

Ryan was on the field as a ball boy for the team’s last two playoff appearances, both of which ended in the AFC Championship Game. He recalled the excitement and the energy around the team.

“That,” he said, “is something I hope to build and replicate here.”