Jets Owner Still Wants Brett Favre, but Won't 'Bully' Rex Ryan Into Decision

Jets owner Woody Johnson was instrumental in bringing Brett Favre to New York last summer. And after a tumultuous 2008 season that included the head coach losing his job and some end-of-year locker room finger-pointing, he's still Favre's biggest adherent.

Johnson's been clear about wanting Favre to return for '09, although he admitted that, ultimately, it's not his decision to make. Which is probably nice to hear if you're new head coach Rex Ryan, who danced around the issue during his introductory press conference Wednesday.

Johnson, speaking on WFAN this afternoon, said "I think we'd love to have [Favre]" on the team next season but he's "not the only one involved in the decision tree."

He said new coach Rex Ryan and GM Mike Tannenbaum all would have input, and that Tannenbaum ultimately is responsible for all personnel decisions. "I'm not going to bully them," Johnson said, "but I like [Brett], and I think we can win with him."

Perhaps Johnson's ardor for Favre is as much economic as football-related. The Jets have some personal seat licenses (PSLs) to move, and it's a much easier sell when the starting quarterback is a first-ballot Hall of Famer instead of some dude named Kellen.

Of course, fielding a winning team that routinely makes it to the postseason doesn't hurt, either. With only two days of work to go on, Ryan's off to a good start. And in case you need final confirmation for why Mangini was canned, Johnson explains (via Newsday's Erik Boland):

Johnson finally confirmed what has been written for three weeks: that Mangini's lack of apparent passion cost him his job. "I didn't see it," Johnson said of the Jets mostly lifeless sideline. "It was certainly part of the decision, yeah," Johnson added.

His interpretation of what happened down the stretch when the Jets lost four of their last five?

"I think they ran out of steam physically and mentally and maybe more mentally," Johnson said. "We ran out of gas it looked like."

Congratulations are in order for the Browns, an organization that has managed to replace one chubby, lifeless coach with another. Well done, indeed.