Rex Ryan signs contract extension, but he needs to win or else

We all knew that Rex Ryan was coming back to the Jets when Woody Johnson and John Idzik gushed over an 8-8 finish as if the franchise had won the Super Bowl a few weeks ago.

Now Ryan has put his signature on a new contract that will keep him a Jet through 2016. However, Ryan should not get too comfortable.

The contract is heavily incentive laden demanding that Ryan produce more than just mediocre results. He has to win playoff games, or else he could be fired without the franchise eating too much money. While technically Ryan isn't on the hot seat in 2014, because he has a new contract; he is on the hot seat in 2014 if the team fails to make the playoffs.

To this day I still don't know why the Jets decided to keep Ryan. The clearly do not trust him, why else would they make the contract extension incentive laden so they could fire him at the drop of a hat. If the Jets front office was so dubious about Ryan's future, then why not fire him after the 2013 season.

Considering Ryan's history with the Jets, nobody would have blamed them if they made the move. Now the franchise has just denied the inevitable. Unless the Jets can make the playoffs next season, it could be the last time we see Rex on the sideline for Gang Green.