Calvin Pryor takes shots at his ex-coach Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan on Tuesday defended his decision to appoint former Jets linebacker and Geno Smith jawbreaker IK Enemkpali as a team captain for Thursday's game, saying that he always taps players on his team who previously played for opponents and that he was not taking a shot at his former team.

Jets safety Calvin Pryor isn't buying it.

"I really don't get it," Ryan said on a conference call about the criticism he sparked by naming the player who broke Smith's jaw with a punch on Aug. 11. Smith underwent surgery and lost his starting job to Ryan Fitzpatrick. "You [reporters] know how I do the captains," Ryan said. "If this was an isolated deal where I just threw a guy out there, I can understand it. But this is what we do every single week."

But Pryor, the Jets' first-round pick out of Louisville last year, said Ryan's move was "kind of disrespectful . . . You had a guy who was once here who hit a teammate. To make him a captain going into this game, if you're going to make him a captain, just make him a captain. You don't have to announce it on Monday for the whole world to know."

Ryan was asked by a reporter on Monday if he planned to name Enemkpali a captain, because he had played for the Jets. Twice this season, Ryan named guard Richie Incognito, who was at the center of a bullying scandal with Miami in 2013, as a team captain when Buffalo played the Dolphins.

"Richie Incognito had some issues, I guess, in Miami, but we named him captain," Ryan said. "He was a former Dolphin and he was out there with some of his former teammates, and I knew that was special for him. If I had Jason Taylor when we go to Miami, he was the captain . It's not a slap in anybody's face. It's not a sign of disrespect. I've done it that way ever since I came into the league."

Pryor took a shot at Ryan on Twitter earlier yesterday, when he wrote, "This guy does anything for attention," accompanied by a sleeping-face emoji. Ryan had worn a Clemson helmet during the news briefing and evidently thought Pryor was annoyed with the coach because of Louisville's loss to Clemson earlier this year.

"He's mad because Clemson put it on his team," said Ryan, whose son, Seth, plays at Clemson.

But Pryor said he wasn't tweeting about Ryan wearing the Clemson helmet. He was tweeting about Ryan's decision to make Enemkpali a captain for Thursday's game.

"I didn't even pay attention before I tweeted that," said Pryor, who referred to Enemkpali as "a good friend." "I had seen something on Twitter on 'First Take' where they were talking about IK being a captain."

Pryor took some additional shots at Ryan's coaching, in particular about how he used him last season. Pryor, usually a strong safety, mostly played free safety because of deficiencies in the Jets' secondary. Ryan tweaked Pryor's draft class on his conference call, agreeing that the 2013 group drafted by former general manager John Idzik deserved an A-plus but saying of the 2014 class: "Not so much."

Pryor shot back, "Has something to do with coaching as well. It goes hand-in-hand."

Anything he could have done differently? "Could have played guys in the right position," Pryor said.

When asked to describe Ryan's coaching ability, Pryor said, "I think he's an outstanding coach, defensive-wise."

And as a head coach? "No comment on that."

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”