INDIANAPOLIS — Bombastic New York Jets coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan was the talk of the combine last year when he guaranteed that his team was going to win the Super Bowl. Standing in the same room today, about a month and a half after his team endured an 8-8 season and a divided locker room, Ryan was significantly less brash.
In fact, he blamed himself for what Ryan called a "terrible" season.
"In all seriousness, looking back, obviously it was a huge mistake to make that guarantee," Ryan said. "At the time, we were coming off two championship games, I really thought it would be a thing that would actually motivate our team to really talk about the Super Bowl, focus on the Super Bowl. But in hindsight, I think it put undue pressure on our team. And we kind of lost focus on what we do best."