"The "to-do'' list Rex Ryan faces after his Jets melted down on the field, then further embarrassed themselves by purporting themselves in an even more unseemly way off of it, is a long one.

There are a lot of things that went bad on Ryan's watch in 2011 that need fixing in 2012 — beginning with his own credibility.

Listening to Ryan on a conference call yesterday reinforced bold-talk bravado suits him a lot better than run-for-cover spin doctoring.

Listening to Ryan, without a trace of his usual bull-in-a-China-shop personality evident, gingerly sticking and moving his way through some pressing questions, was like seeing him driving around town in a Smart Car.

It didn't fit.

Spin doctoring is for losers. If Ryan is going to be "true to himself'' — as he often likes to say — he needs to be more truthful with those who listen to him.

Ryan has developed a recent habit of painting himself into some places from which he cannot gracefully extricate himself.

He repeated in recent weeks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer would stay as long as he was not hired away as a head coach.

Schottenheimer, the scapegoat, is gone and not only is he not a head coach anywhere, he isn't even employed.

If you have listened to Ryan during the last three years, you have heard him thump his chest about how he "has the best coaching staff in football'' that he "wouldn't trade for anyone.''"