Former Jets coach Rex Ryan breaks down during tearful tribute to late Nick Mangold Michael MiddlehurstSchwartz, USA TODAYOctober 27, 2025 at 4:10 AM 0 The news of former New York Jets center Nick Mangold's death at 41 hit the NFL world hard on Sunday, when the team announced the seventime Pro Bowl c...
- - Former Jets coach Rex Ryan breaks down during tearful tribute to late Nick Mangold
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAYOctober 27, 2025 at 4:10 AM
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The news of former New York Jets center Nick Mangold's death at 41 hit the NFL world hard on Sunday, when the team announced the seven-time Pro Bowl center had passed away from complications from kidney disease.
Among those who paid tribute to Mangold was former Jets coach Rex Ryan, who counted on the two-time All-Pro as a fixture up front for his entire tenure (2009-14) in New York.
"It's brutal," a tearful Ryan said on "Sunday NFL Countdown" on ESPN. "Such a great young man. I had the pleasure of coaching him for all six years with the Jets. I remember (when) it was obvious I was getting fired, my last game, Mangold's injured. And he comes to me and says, 'I'm playing this game.' And he went and played for me.
"That's what I remember about this kid. He was awesome, and just way too young. I feel so bad for his wife and family."
Rex Ryan mourns the loss of his former player Nick Mangold following his death from kidney disease. pic.twitter.com/xhpJJ0yue3
— ESPN (@espn) October 26, 2025
Ryan then stopped as fellow ESPN analyst Randy Moss comforted him and Mike Greenberg took over.
Former Jets offensive tackle Willie Colon, who played alongside Mangold from 2013-15, said he talked to Mangold last week but that the morning's news "broke" him.
"Those who knew about my career as a Jet, I was injury-prone," Colon said on "Jets Pre-Game Live" on SNY. "I had a lot of injuries, and there were a lot of days I was going out on that field on one leg. And I could look to 7-4 (Mangold's number), and he's like, 'I got you.'"
"There was times where emotionally, I was a wreck. And he always had my back. So, I love you, Nick."
"When I got the nod from Rex Ryan to come to New York and play, I didn't just want to play for the Jets. I wanted to play with Nick Mangold. I wanted to play besides D'Brickashaw Ferguson, because we were all in the same draft class. We all got drafted in '06 together so we had… pic.twitter.com/BC3hyWbJaE
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 26, 2025
Twelve days prior to Sunday's announcement, Mangold had revealed that he was diagnosed in 2006 with a rare genetic disorder and was seeking a kidney transplant.
A staple of the Jets' line throughout his 11-year career and a leading figure in the team's push to consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances in 2009-10, Mangold started 164 of 176 possible games with the team. He was inducted into the Jets' Ring of Honor in 2022 and is among the 52 modern-era candidates currently under consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nick Mangold's death prompts tearful Rex Ryan tribute
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