Rex Ryan wants to be a head coach, but not at the Ravens’ expense.
“My future is right now, and that’s to get this team ready for the Titans,” he said. “I’ve worked all my life to get ready for opportunities to be a head coach. I’m not going to be phony. I’m going to be myself.”
Still, the Ravens’ defensive coordinator has been identified as a candidate for head coaching vacancies in Detroit, New York and St. Louis. But league rules prohibit him from interviewing for any position until his team’s season is over. And for Ryan and the Ravens, that may not be until Feb. 2 — the day after Super Bowl XLIII –when all of the coaching positions already could be filled.
Last year, Ryan was in the running for openings in Atlanta, Miami and Baltimore, but said his poor interviewing skills contributed to him having to return to the Ravens as an assistant.
“I’m not real good at [interviewing],” Ryan said. “I’m not blessed with a silver tongue like many of these guys. What you see is what you get. I know I’m a great football coach, and I know I’m a leader of men. I think that’s probably my edge over other people.”
Sharpe, Woodson are Hall finalists
As the Ravens prepare for Saturday’s game against the Titans, two former players from the franchise’s Super Bowl XXXV-winning squad are being considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tight end Shannon Sharpe and safety Rod Woodson are among 17 finalists up for election into the shrine in Canton, Ohio, but former Ravens majority owner Art Modell did not make the final list.
Sharpe, who played with the Ravens in 2000 and 2001, finished his career with 815 catches, 10,060 yards and 62 touchdowns. Woodson, who played in Baltimore from 1998 to 2001, recorded 71 interceptions — third-most all time — in 17 seasons. The other candidates are: Cris Carter, Dermontti Dawson, Richard Dent, Russ Grimm, Bob Hayes, Claude Humphrey, Cortez Kennedy, Bob Kuechenberg, Randall McDaniel, John Randle, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, Paul Tagliabue, Derrick Thomas and Ralph Wilson.
The Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors meets in Tampa Fla., on Jan. 31, and finalists who are named on at least 80 percent of ballots are enshrined.
