Rex Ryan could bring Ravens' Ray Lewis to Jets defense

Brett Favre or Ray Lewis?

If you're a first-year coach and could pick one of the future Hall of Famers, who would it be? Things would have to fall a certain way, but at some point over the next several weeks, Rex Ryan could be faced with that choice.

Favre's future with the Jets is uncertain, and Lewis, whom Ryan coached for 10 years with the Ravens, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in March. The Jets are $10 million over the projected 2009 salary cap (that includes Favre's $13 million salary), so it's unlikely they would be able to afford both.

No doubt, Ryan will be pelted with Favre-related questions when he's introduced Wednesday morning at the Jets' headquarters in Florham Park, N.J. Will he lobby Favre to return? Does he even want the fading, 39-year-old quarterback? How long will he wait for the puff of smoke to emerge from Favre's ranch in Mississippi?

Favre, who has a torn biceps tendon in his legendary right arm, is believed to be leaning toward retirement. If he quits, his entire salary would come off the books. That, combined with a couple of relatively painless roster cuts, would create enough cap room to pursue Lewis.

"He's a once-in-a-lifetimer, he really is, not just as a player, but as a person and as a leader," Ryan said of Lewis after Sunday night's loss to the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game - his final game as the Ravens' defensive coordinator. "He's just tremendous."

Lewis, 33, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection, is well-versed as an inside linebacker in Ryan's 3-4 system, and the Jets will have an opening because incumbent Eric Barton will be a free agent. Even though they want to re-sign Lewis, the Ravens may let him test the open market to determine his value.

They have to make some tough financial decisions. Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs also is set to become a free agent, along with highly regarded inside linebacker Bart Scott.

It's hard to imagine Lewis playing for another team after 13 seasons in Baltimore, where he's as much a fixture as crab cakes, but did anyone picture Favre on a team other than the Packers? It's worth noting that when Ryan was the Ravens' defensive line coach, from 1999 to 2004, his players once made a pact, agreeing they'd play out their contracts and follow him if he ever went to another team.

Ryan isn't going to have a lot of cap flexibility - the Jets are paying for last year's spending spree - but he will try to acquire a Baltimore defensive player to help the holdovers make the transition to his system.

Forget about Suggs; the Jets already have too much money invested in outside linebackers. In fact, Ryan's pet project will be former No. 1 pick Vernon Gholston, who washed out as a rookie. Scott makes the most sense, although Lewis is exactly the kind of leader that would galvanize the talent on defense.

"I think I made Ray, to be honest with you," Ryan joked. "He was an average player until I got him."

(nydailynews.com)