Rex Ryan put a cigar in his mouth when he should have been eating crow.
The ESPN analyst and second-term Jets head coach clearly lit a fire under the Texans when he said last week that the Chargers had a “bye week” by facing the Texans in the AFC wild-card round.
Final score: Texas 32, Chargers 12.
The Texans mocked Ryan while smoking cigars in their locker room — as seen in videos on social media — giving Ryan a chance to get the last word on Sunday during “NFL Countdown” on ESPN.
“I can still motivate the team with the best ones, stuff like that,” Ryan quipped, picking up his cigar. “Oh my God. Who had a worse day: me or Justin Herbert? There might be.”
Herbert threw four interceptions, including a pick-six, for the Chargers.
“You have to take your hat off to them,” Ryan said of the Texans. “Because this team played their absolute role. Look, if you guys were going to play like this, I'd take you to the Super Bowl. I see, going into it, [Texans] She's 1-5 against playoff teams and all that. Sorry, Houston.”
It was cigar-wielding running back Joe Mixon who delivered the sentence against Ryan.
“I’m smoking on that Rex Ryan farewell package,” Mixon said in a video.
The AFC South champion and fourth-seeded Texans will visit either the top-seeded Chiefs or the third-seeded Ravens in the divisional playoffs next week. The opponent will be determined by the Broncos-Bills winner on Sunday.
Ryan's apology did not last long.
“I won't pick you next week either,” Ryan declared. “Or maybe I will.”
The Jets aren't scheduled to face the Texans until 2027, so it could be a while before Ryan faces the music even if he's hired as the Jets' head coach.
He interviewed for the job last week and was one of the top candidates off the board when Mike Vrabel landed with the Patriots — and Ryan quickly talked trash.
