Rex again playing footsie on book tour

Richard Drew/AP

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan mentions his wife Thursday, according to a report, when Michael Kay makes a reference to Ryan's alleged foot fetish, which grabs headlines in Dec. 2010 (below).

MENDHAM, N.J. - Despite the Jets' success, and the release of a new book, Rex Ryan can't keep from putting his foot in his mouth. Or someone else's.

Appearing on Michael Kay's YES show "CenterStage" Thursday as part of his media blitz for his book "Play It Like You Mean It," Ryan found himself squirming under a bright spotlight.

According to the Star-Ledger, Kay made a sly reference to Ryan's alleged foot fetish when he asked, "Would you have carved off your pinkie toe to win that Patriot game?"

The audience snickered and the coach squirmed. He stalled by offering, "Oh, there's so many things I can say," the paper reported.

Finally, he admitted: "Yes, I would carve off my pinkie toe." He held that thought, then said, "But not my wife's," the paper reported.

A woman bearing a resemblance to Ryan's wife, Michelle, appeared in a foot fetish-themed video that raced through the Internet in December, but Ryan has deflected all inquiries about the video, saying it was a personal matter.

CLICK FOR PHOTOS OF REX RYAN AND HIS WIFE MICHELLE

It was mortal moment for the brash and oversized Jets' coach. He promised Super Bowl glory, yet Gang Green has come up short in two straight AFC title games. Ryan has weathered controversies the moment after Jets owner Woody Johnson hired him - from the foot fetish videos, to the team's no-holds-barred starring role on HBO's "Hard Knocks," to Ryan flipping the bird to Dolphins fans at a 2010 MMA event in Florida - yet his popularity is on a par with that of Broadway Joe Namath.

With an NFL lockout in effect and the 2011 season perhaps in jeopardy, Ryan is doing exactly what Jets fans would expect him to do: opening his mouth and making promises of the variety Namath made famous over four decades ago. And Ryan is even more visible these days - if that's possible - plugging his book "Play Like You Mean It," released this week. The ultra fan-friendly coach is on a public relations tour de force that will only strengthen his fan base. It doesn't hurt that Ryan is - shocker - promising big things for his team.

"This year, I guarantee it," Ryan said Thursday when asked about the Jets winning the franchise's first Super Bowl title since Namath guaranteed Gang Green would take Super Bowl III. "People have a problem with it - all the Giants fans, Patriots fans, Dolphins fans, Cowboys fans. Everybody's got a problem with it. I really don't care."

Wednesday night, an estimated 600 to 700 fans lined the quiet streets of Huntington, L.I. - rainfall be damned - to have Ryan sign copies of his book at the Book Revue. That capped a day when Ryan did more than two dozen interviews to promote the book.

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