Rex Ryan Rips Robert Saleh, Robert Saleh’s Brother Drops the Hammer on Rex Ryan: TRAINA THOUGHTS
1. We love a messy, childish feud, so we were downright giddy when we saw what went down Monday between former Jets coach and current ESPN personality Rex Ryan, current Jets coach Robert Saleh and Saleh’s brother David.
It all started when Ryan, who seems to think he’s on the level of Bill Belichick and Bill Walsh, went on New York’s local ESPN radio show Monday morning to blast Saleh and the Jets for their pathetic defensive effort over the past several weeks.
“This guy is supposed to be a defensive guru,” Ryan said. I take it personal. Everything I heard was this guy is a lot like myself, but without the bad part. Some of the bad part you need, because the team doesn’t want to play with any damn heart. That’s the thing that’s disappointing me.
Don’t ever compare this guy to me, this Robert Saleh to me. … To me, I’m a little pissed off about it when I heard his background is a lot like yours. No, it isn’t. No, it isn’t.”
While Saleh and the Jets have been awful this season, especially on defense, it’s comical that Ryan is offended at the idea of people comparing him to the current New York coach, because this was Ryan’s career record as an NFL head coach:
9–7
11–5
8–8
6–10
8–8
4–12
8–8
7–8
To recap, Ryan was 46–50 as Jets coach and 61–66 overall when you include his two seasons with the Bills.
Later in the day, Saleh appeared on ESPN radio and was asked about Ryan’s comments.
“I’ve never met Rex,” he said. “I’ve never had a conversation with Rex. I don’t even know him, except for people who know him throughout the league. Obviously, if it’s that personal for him, he knows where to find me.”
Sure, that “he knows where to find me” line is kinda good, but Saleh didn’t mean it like, “Hey, find me and let’s fight, tough guy.” It was more like, “If you wanna talk, find me.”
Saleh’s overall quote isn’t inflammatory or ridiculous, like Ryan’s quote was.
However, Saleh’s brother David was ready to take things to another level. He defended his sibling by dropping this bomb:
Calling Ryan a clown is pretty cookie-cutter, the fat joke is low-hanging fruit, but “stick to podiatry” is a pretty fantastic way to refer to Ryan’s famous foot fetish.
But it’s the line about totally flopping once Ryan didn’t have Eric Mangini’s players that has to sting Ryan the most because the numbers say it’s true. After Ryan’s first two seasons as Jets coach, his record in New York was 26–38.
Score one for brotherly love in this dust-up.
2. Here is this week's installment of the best segment on all of sports television: "Bad Beats."
3. I've never seen an NBA ejection like this one. Lakers star Anthony Davis lost a sneaker last night. As he put it back on after a basket, the ref refused to stop the game. So Davis barked at the ref and the ref tossed him. It wasn't even his second technical. Ridiculous.
4. GQ has a big feature out on Giannis that is filled with several good nuggets on the Bucks' star. One of those nuggets is that Giannis flies coach and then trades Bucks tickets for aisle seats.
5. A big theme on the latest SI Media Podcast (see below item) was Bill Belichick and the tremendous job he is doing with the Patriots this season. I was already going to throw a few bucks on the Patriots to reach the Super Bowl, but NBC's Cris Collinsworth made me double my bet.
6. The latest SI Media Podcast features two guests.
First up is WWE superstar Becky Lynch, who talks about her real-life heat with her Survivor Series opponent, Charlotte Flair. Lynch also discussed her return to wrestling after having a baby, balancing work and motherhood, the positive and negative reaction she got during her SummerSlam return and much more.
Following Lynch, The Ringer's Kevin Clark joins the podcast to talk about a wide variety of NFL topics including Aaron Rodgers, the taunting rule, the ManningCast, Bill Belichick's genius, the Chiefs' struggles and much more.
The show closes with the weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment featuring WFAN and SNY's Sal Licata. You can get the full story behind my recent Instagram joke gone wrong, the latest episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, avoiding spoilers and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: This is not political. This is not about conservative vs. liberal. This is not about pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine. This is just good, solid trainwreck television.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
