Rex in effect: Ryan is remaking Jets with Ravens in mind

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan inherited two outstanding qualities from his father.

The first is that he knows defense.

'We're not going to back down from any challenge,' Ryan says. (Getty Images)

The second is he's brash, bold and aggressive, and will build his team into his image.

Buddy Ryan was all of that and more when he was a defensive coordinator and head coach in the NFL. Teams feared his defenses. Now the son is a chip off the old man's block -- or blockhead, as some might say.

At his press conference a few weeks ago when he was announced as the newest Jets coach, Rex Ryan came off as cocky, assuring quick success.

I asked him about that at the combine.

"Hey, if I don't believe it, how can I ask my guys to believe it," Ryan said.

Before coming to the Jets, Ryan coached an in-your-face defense with the Baltimore Ravens, where intimidation was the rule.

One of the players who led that defense was linebacker Bart Scott. Ryan and the Jets landed Scott Friday on the first day of free agency, signing him to a six-year, $48-million contract.

Get ready, AFC East. Rex Ryan is building the Ravens North.

"We're going to have a team that's going to be a physical football team," Ryan said. "We're not going to back down from any challenge."

Getting Scott is a step in the right direction. He is a young, aggressive linebacker who plays with passion.

The Jets lacked passion last season.

Ryan will have none of that.

Asked the type of players he likes, Ryan didn't hesitate, "Physical, tough, passionate-type people."

Ravens-type players.

"In the past, we've always tried to build our defense that way in Baltimore," Ryan said. "Now we're going to try to build our team that way. That's the formula we had for success in Baltimore, and we're going to look for that with the Jets."

In conversations I've had with Ryan over the years, we talked about the possibility that he wasn't landing any head-coaching jobs because teams viewed him as another Buddy Ryan. Despite big-time success in Baltimore, he might have been right.

"It makes you wonder if they think I am like my dad," he told me once. "We're different people."

Buddy Ryan was far more knee-jerk reactionary. Who can forget his sideline punch of Kevin Gilbride when both were with the Houston Oilers? Rex Ryan isn't that way.

He can get emotional and he will give good sound bites like his dad -- the Jets beat writers have to kiss the ground going from Eric Mangini to this guy -- but Rex Ryan knows when to pull back. His father never did.

To think he's way removed from his father would be a mistake. The man knows and loves defense. He also thinks he's damn good at what he does, which is admirable.

There are too many coaches who give us coach-speak. I love that Ryan doesn't. I hope he doesn't change.

Ryan was asked at the combine when fans can expect to see the Jets defense as good as the one he had in Baltimore.

"I think next year," he said. "If we bring in the kind of players we're talking about, we only need to add one or two guys. The foundation is already there. Maybe the mentality we're going to play with, the style we're going to play with, it's going to help the guys we already have. You know me. I'm not one to shy away from expectations. I think we'll be terrific. I think we'll have a defense our fans can be proud of."

Adding Scott helps.

Hiring Ryan makes it a probability.