Rex Ryan’s mullet might not have been as authentic as that of Dog the Bounty Hunter. The bounty part, however, is very real.
Jets coach Rex Ryan promised there would be surprises this week, ahead of his showdown with his brother Rob, the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns. Ryan didn’t disappoint on Wednesday as he gave the injury updates for his team, then left the podium for a minute and walked out of the room. Ryan re-emerged, wearing a Browns hat and t-shirt, complete with a blonde wig under his hat and a pillow stuffed under the shirt.
The shirt, Rex later admitted, was a 5XL.
He was nearly a dead-ringer for his twin brother or a blonde — slimmer? — version of Khloe Kardashian. True to form, Rex then fielded questions from the media in the guise of his brother’s persona.
“I think Rex is a great coach. I think he is a great person,” Rex said during the impersonation of his brother. “There is no question about that. He’s very handsome.”
Rex kept the guise for several minutes to humorously answer a handful of questions as his brother. During the entertaining news conference, Rex made fun of Eric Mangini for his weight loss saying that “You can’t find the little guy out there. He’s lost more than I have and I’ve had surgery” and also teased his brother for his notoriously scraggly goatee. In addition, Rex placed a bounty on his brother for Sunday’s game, a tribute to his father Buddy, a longtime NFL coach who was reported to have placed such a bounty on the head of two players on the Cowboys.
“I want to mention that obviously my dad one time from the league, I guess there was some question about a certain bounty that he put on a player,” Rex said. “Obviously, that wasn’t true. I’m saying there is a bounty this week. I know I’m going to hear from the league, but I’m placing a bounty on my brother’s head.”
Rex cautioned some concern about the bounty, much like any caring brother would. His concern, however, was for his team and not his twin.
“I do have some concerns. I have some concerns that some of our players may bounce off of him, to be honest with you,” Rex said. “That notwithstanding, there is a bounty. I know I’m going to hear about it from the league, but I say the way it is, the truth, and that is the truth.”
