Woody Johnson, John Mara upbeat about their teams' coaches

While they were busy beginning a hectic week, trying to be accommodating hosts for other teams who are here to play the Super Bowl, top decision-makers of the Jets and Giants both took a moment Monday to praise their own coaches.

Jets owner Woody Johnson was upbeat about having extended Rex Ryan's contract. "You can't beat Rex," he said after taking part in the Super Bowl Host Committee's news conference at the Sheraton Times Square. "Rex is a great coach, as I've said. Great 'D'. He has grown in the role. We were confident Rex was going to stay."

Still, Johnson is co-chairman of the host committee, so when he was asked to talk some more about Ryan, he politely said, "I'd rather keep it to the Super Bowl. We're not in it, unfortunately."

Giants president John Mara was similarly positive about the return of Tom Coughlin, whose age and long career prompted speculation that he might have been considering retirement. Coughlin, 67, recently insisted that he plans to keep working.

"You never want a coach to say, 'Yeah I've just about had it.' I don't think you're ever going to get him to say that," Mara said. "He still has the same energy he has always had, so I'm pleased about it."

With the Giants, it is the assistant coaching crew that has undergone a makeover. The Giants hired former Packers quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo as offensive coordinator, Craig Johnson as running backs coach and Danny Langsdorf as quarterbacks coach.

"I'm excited about some of the new guys we brought in,'' Mara said. "It was time to change things up a little bit. I think we've got a very solid staff. And listen, we need to do a little better job in the draft and free agency, too. It's an organizational thing; it's not just a couple of coaches."