Rex Ryan Drops 106 Pounds, Says He'll 'Drink' Six Pack Instead of Wearing One

Rex Ryan Drops 106 Pounds, Says He’ll ‘Drink’ Six Pack Instead of Wearing One

by Luke Hughes on Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 10:57PM

As his New York Jets prepared for their first of two trips to the AFC Championship Game back in January 2010, Rex Ryan stepped on the scale and couldn't believe what he saw.

The Jets head coach had always been a big man, but the sight of 348 on the bar in front of him was just dumbfounding.

"I mean, I couldn't believe it," Ryan said in an interview with ESPN New York. "I swear to you, I wanted to look to see if someone was behind me."

The then 47-year-old Ryan decided at that moment that he was going to get healthy, and two years later it appears to have worked. Ryan, who had lap-band surgery last offseason and has a continued commitment to staying healthy, walked into the Jets training facility on Thursday sporting a much slimmer belly and a thinner waist.

Over the past two years, Ryan says he's lost 106 pounds and dropped nearly 10 inches at his waistline, meaning the once-hefty head man no longer needs to shop in the big and tall section for all his clothes. Now at 242, Sexy Rexy is much more confident and even a bit wiser.

"I obviously look a lot better. I may not be a box of chocolates, but I look a hell of a lot better than I did," Ryan said. "I want to see my kids grow up, and I want to see their kids grow up. That was important to me. Selfishly, that's why I did it."

But while he may not be lugging around the "six pack" that his son Payton used to joke with him about, Ryan says he won't be afraid to kick back a six-pack of beer from time to time. "Yeah, I'll have one," he says.

It's been a long time coming for Sexy Rexy, but I guess he's finally living up to his nickname.