Rex Ryan's celebrity status is likely as high as it will ever be (save for actually winning a Super Bowl), so naturally, he's written a book.
The Star-Ledger published some excerpts from "Play Like You Mean It," a 270-page book to be released on May 3. One of the excerpts centered around Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker's comments in the week leading up to AFC divisional round showdown between the Pats and Jets.
Welker mentioned feet 11 times in a news conference, an obvious jab at the New York head coach and his wife who were at the center of a foot fetish video controversy during the season.
Welker was benched to begin the game and eventually apologized, but Ryan reveals in his book that the wide receiver also apologized to him in person at this year's Pro Bowl.
"Look, it didn't bother me. I'm not going to let that affect me. But it did get Welker benched for the first series by Belichick, so I was fine with that. … When I went to Hawaii, the kid came up and apologized to me and my wife. No hard feelings."
Ryan obviously got the last laugh, though, when the Jets came away with a 28-21 win on Jan. 17 at Gillette Stadium. The head coach made his rivalry with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick one of the center pieces of the playoff matchup, and Ryan says Belichick was complimentary when the two met at midfield after the game.
"After the game, Belichick was great," he says. "He came up to me and said, 'That was an unbelievable coaching job; you deserve it and I hope you win the whole thing.' He really said that, and I could tell he was sincere."
