NEW YORK — On Tuesday, the Jets will interview Rex Ryan for their vacant coaching position.

A day before the scheduled meeting with Jets owner Woody Johnson, Ryan believes he’s the best candidate for the job and that he will get his old job back.

“Oh, 100%. Absolutely I do,” Ryan said on ESPN New York. “And the reason I think I’m going to get it is because I’m the best guy and it ain’t close.”

The Jets are looking for both a new coach and general manager following a disappointing 5-12 season. Last October, Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start. A month later, Johnson fired general manager Joe Douglas, who was in the final year of his six-year contract.

The 33rd Team, a media and consulting group led by former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and former Dolphins and Vikings GM Rick Spielman, was hired by the Jets in November to assist them in their general manager and coaching searches.

Both Ryan and Tannenbaum both work as analysts for ESPN.

Ryan has been actively campaigning to become the Jets coach for months. From 2009-14, Ryan was the coach of the Jets and had a lot of early success. Gang Green made back-to-back AFC Championship appearances in 2009 and 2010. However, the team has not made the playoffs since.

Ryan registered a 46-50 record during his six seasons with the Jets. However, during his final four years as coach, he was 23-36, with zero playoff appearances, before he was fired following the 2014 season.

Ryan then joined the Bills as coach from 2015-16 before he was fired after two seasons. He has not coached since being fired by Buffalo.

Entering the 2024 season, the Jets had playoff and Super Bowl aspirations. But those dreams quickly evaporated after Saleh was fired. Jeff Ulbrich, who served as interim coach, went 3-9 in his 12 games.

The Jets have already been busy interviewing coaching candidates. Last week, they interviewed former Titans coach Mike Vrabel and former Panthers and Commanders coach Ron Rivera. They also have requested to interview Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, according to reports.

Ryan believes he can help reenergize the Jets fan base and organization compared to Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who is expected to be a hot candidate during this year’s hiring cycle. Johnson is not expected to interview with the Jets, according to a source.

“The thing you have to do, you have to connect with your football team, you have to connect with your fan base,” Ryan said. “The way they play, that’s the most important thing.

“Not just the Xs and Os and all that. This Ben Johnson, I love him. I absolutely love him. But I’m a better candidate for this job than he would be.”

One of the Jets’ most important decisions this offseason is whether to keep Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback. Rodgers, 41, has no remaining guaranteed money on his contract. With a new regime coming in, the team could choose to move on from Rodgers, whose play was uneven throughout the 2024 season.

If Rodgers is on the roster in 2025, he will make a non-guaranteed $37.5 million, with a dead cap hit of $49 million, as his salary cap total increases from $17.1 million to $23.5 million. Ryan said that if he is on the team in 2025, he will end what he called Rodgers’ “country club” atmosphere.

“Clearly, when you have a guy that doesn’t show up for mandatory minicamp — and by the way, he’s your quarterback coming off an injury — I think that’s an absolutely ridiculous message you send to the team,” Ryan said. “If he comes back, things would be different. If he’s back, it ain’t gonna be the country club, show up whenever the hell you want to show up.

“That ain’t gonna happen. I’ll just leave it at that.”

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