Rex Ryan Overrated: Sporting News' Player Poll Ranks Jets Coach As Most Overrated

Tebow And Sanchez Aren't Alone
New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan talks with players during an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. The Patriots won 29-26 in overtime. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan talks with players during an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. The Patriots won 29-26 in overtime. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

After Jets coach Rex Ryan found out that two of his team's quarterbacks -- Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez -- were voted most the overrated players in the NFL late last month, he told ESPNNewYork he's happy that they're on his team. Never at a loss for words, Ryan noted that it "seems like the Jets always get something."

Well, here's the next thing.

Tebow and Sanchez aren't the only members of the Gang Green that players believe are overrated. Not long after the Jets quarterbacks were voted most overrated among 180 players in a Sports Illustrated poll, a Sporting News poll including 103 players ranked Ryan atop the same category for NFL head coaches.

Per the report, Ryan received 35 votes while the New England's Bill Belichick was ranked the second-most overrated with 16 votes.

However, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News pointed out, Sporting News' sample size was relatively small with only about 6 percent of the players on active rosters from 27 of 32 teams voting.

In his first two seasons as head coach of the Jets, Ryan led the team to two straight AFC Championship games. They lost both games, falling short of Ryan's guarantees of winning the Super Bowl. There hasn't been a Super Bowl guarantee since.

In 2011, they lost their three final games to end the season at 8-8 and missed the postseason. So far in 2012, they're 3-5 and tied with Buffalo in the AFC East cellar.

UPDATE Rex Ryan responded to the Sporting News poll on Wednesday and said he "wasn't offended by it," according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com.

"I was like, 'Hey, I finally beat Belichick in something.' I knew it would take time, but I finally got him," he said.

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