Rex Ryan starts drumbeat for Rob

There are expected to be several NFL coaching vacancies this off-season and Jets coach Rex Ryan used this week's media attention on he and twin brother Rob to launch the candidacy of Rob, the Browns defensive coordinator.

Asked if it was time for Rob to become a head coach, Rex said, ''I certainly think so. I don't think you can put a time on it. I know he will be a head coach one day and he'll be a great one. Whether it's this coming up season or not, I'm not sure.

"With all the coaches in the league, you're not going to get a guy who has more dedication or more passion for the game than my brother. He was born to coach, he's been around the game all his life. He can motivate young men and that's what this game is all about. If you want to see what kind of coach he is, just watch the way they play. Those guys lay it on the line for him. They've done it for him when he was with Oakland, when he was with New England and that's what this game's all about. If they're taking the best coaches out there, then he'll certainly get a job next year.''

Rex said he and Rob, born 5 minutes apart, are different in some respects.

''We're two different people,'' Rex said. ''But there's several things we share in common. The passion we have for the game, the respect we have for the players and the people in the organization and the fact that I know he'll get his players to play 100 percent to their level.

" The other thing that people don't understand, there's nobody more competitive than myself and my brother. Yeah we like to have a great time and it's fun. We'll have fun when it's time to have fun. The intensity and the passion and everything else, you see it on game day. But my brother, he's a much better coach than just being funny and all that kind of stuff. I don't know if there's a coach in this league that prepares as hard as my brother does. I told my guys, 'He's going to look back at your history as a coach, as a play-caller. He just doesn't study this year's tape, but he'll look at years ago when he plays you.' He's committed to this game. This is our life, the NFL, that's all we know. ''

Rex said Rob's entertaining style, which makes him a media darling, helps his players.

"He doesn't take himself too seriously and that's a great thing, I think it takes pressure off the players,'' Rex said. ''That's what you're going to see from Rob and his guys. They turn it loose, they love playing for him and they're passionate about him.''