There are, of course, some obvious differences between Rex Ryan and Jose Mourinho. The latter has a case full of trophies as manager, while the former’s only ring came when he was a defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens team that won Super Bowl XXXV. Plus, it’s only obvious that one of them eats like a horse.
In many ways, though, Ryan and Mourinho are exactly the same type of coach. Both are larger-than-life personalities. Both soak up the spotlight, take the heat off their players and boldly put it squarely on themselves. They are in charge. They will talk of their teams as the best on the planet. They will take the praise and the blame for everything.
When their teams fail, they take all the scorn for their boastful antics. But when they back up their talk with a victory, we can’t help but salute them.
Even the way they pull off those victories seems similar. When the New England Patriots pounded the New York Jets 45-3 on a cold December Monday night in Foxborough, there was little reason to believe the rematch would be much different. It was. Likewise, when Mourinho’s Inter Milan side was thumped by Barcelona in the group stage last year’s UEFA Champions League, few expected a different result in the semifinal round. Guess who hoisted the trophy in the end?
What’s more, both personalities are perfectly suited to their environments. Mourinho is the dashing, cultured polyglot who wouldn’t look out of place at any coffee house in Europe. Ryan, on the other hand, is the big brash American who eats like a horse and gives people the finger at pro wrestling events. When you look at how the American media portrays them, however, you don’t see many differences. Plus, the fans react exactly the same way to them — they love them, or they hate them. When the big game comes around, though, the one thing nobody can do is discount them.
Perhaps that’s why the Special 1 TV parodists seems to be taking a liking to the New York Jets these days. Even puppet Mourinho sees a kindred spirit. Here’s hoping that if a puppet Rex shows up there, he takes his cues from Kissing Suzy Colber’s Rex. I’m sure you can use some of those words on British television, right?