Strong Men Also Cry. Strong ... Men ... Also ... Cry

Rex Ryan is decidedly entrenched in the camp of coaches who wear their emotions on their sleeve. He gets visibly exercised on the sidelines. He encourages trash talking from his players. He engages in trash talk himself. He's very much into the game.

With the Jets having dropped five of their last six after a hot start, Ryan wasn't likely to bottle up his frustration. No, he was going to storm into team headquarters, stare his players down and let loose with a fierce outpouring of ... tears?

Yes, Rex needed a good cry. Let it all out, big boy.

"He didn't bash us at all; he was just very emotional . . . he was crying," right tackle Damien Woody told The Post. "Rex believes in our team so much I can't even put it into words and it would be a shame if we didn't capitalize on our opportunity."

"I was a little upset to see him that way," cornerback Darrelle Revis told The Post. "I'm upset for the same reasons he's upset."

Asked if he's ever been a part of a meeting with such high-powered emotions, Revis said: "No, I haven't been a part of a meeting where a coach cried like that. . . . In the future, I hope there are more tears of joy than the one this morning."

But wait, there's no crying in football, at least so the gridiron ethos goes. Actually, there is quite a bit of weeping. Players and coaches cry all the time after big games. They're human being who are emotionally invested in what they do. We just don't want the macho facade to wear off our favorite sport, one that deals in bluster and brutality. And Woody claimed to have been fired up after the meeting, so maybe the display of emotion will have a beneficial effect. Just so long as Rex doesn't make a habit of it. One Dick Vermeil was enough for our lifetime.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.