Jets' Robert Saleh reacts to Rex Ryan's harsh criticism: 'He knows where to find me'

Ryan coached the Jets from 2009-14

There appears to be a war of words brewing between current Jets coach Robert Saleh and Rex Ryan. New York's former head coach held nothing back about this current iteration of the Jets, who are 2-7 on the season, including a current four-game stretch where they've given up 175 points. On Monday, Ryan put Saleh in the crosshairs and called him out on New York's rough start, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, which was supposedly Saleh's expertise as the former defensive coordinator of the 49ers. 

"I look at it as this defense is abysmal," Ryan told ESPN's "DiPietro and Rothenberg Podcast," as transcribed by SNY. "Bart [Scott] was telling that to me, 'Oh no, their defense is playing hard.' I'm like what? No they don't. This is a horrendous defense. Now they're going to use, 'Well now we didn't have our safety.' So what? Everybody has a million injuries let alone above average safety you're missing. I remember playing without five corners. It never looked like this. We were fifth in the league in defense that year.

"Statistically, one time they were like a top defense. Here's one thing they're going to be familiar with: Four out of five years the 49ers were dead last in their division. So he's going to be dead last again, so he's used to that."

Ryan also seemed to take issue with the comparisons between him and Saleh. When he first arrived in New York, Ryan took a first-round rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez to the AFC Championship game and was competitive in the AFC East right out of the gate. So far, Saleh appears to be on a different track. 

"I'm a little pissed off about it that this guy, his background's a lot like yours. No, it isn't, no it isn't," said Ryan."Quit trying to tell the New York fan base that he's going to be like me as a defensive-minded guy or whatever. I had a clue how to handle a rookie quarterback. I also never got my butt kicked like this in a four-game stretch ever. …Never made excuse and never put a product out there like this."

Naturally, Ryan's comments got back to Saleh as the coach responded on ESPN's "The Michael Kay Show" and noted that he wasn't surprised by it saying: "He's always got something to say." Saleh also highlighted that the two have never met before. 

"Obviously, if it's that personal for him, he knows where to find me," Saleh added. 

The Jets will host the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on Sunday for an inner-divisional matchup in Week 11.