FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- It's vintage Rex Ryan -- defiant, opinionated and cocky. But that's on paper, not in a sound bite.

In his soon-to-be-released book, the outspoken Ryan retraces his first two seasons as the New York Jets' coach, blasting Kerry Rhodes and other former Jets, tweaking Tom Brady (again) and predicting a decade of dominance over the cross-town rival Giants.

Ryan also reveals that he tried to talk Brett Favre out of retirement and how "incredibly disappointed" he was that Tony Dungy called him out last summer for his cursing on the HBO reality series, "Hard Knocks."

Ryan said "it really upset me" to be publicly criticized by Dungy, the Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Ryan said he was "incredibly disappointed that he judged me the way he did," mostly because of Dungy's references to Ryan's father, Buddy.

"To say comments like, 'He grew up with that' and 'He gets it from his father' -- well, you know what? You're darn right I do, and I'm awful proud of that," said Ryan, adding that he later had a "great" meeting with Dungy to clear the air.

The book, entitled "Play Like You Mean It," written with Don Yeager, also highlights Ryan's unusual management style. In one anecdote, Ryan tells how he enlisted the help of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to help him forge a bond with troubled wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

There are no bombshell revelations in the book, due to be released next week, but Ryan slams some of his old players, Rhodes in particular.

"He was a selfish-ass guy," Ryan says of the veteran safety, who was traded to the Arizona Cardinals last offseason. "He wouldn't work and he was a Hollywood type, flashing and needing attention."

Ryan also manages to tweak Vernon Gholston, the draft bust who was released after three disappointing seasons. Ryan was a Baltimore Ravens assistant when the Jets drafted Gholtson, but he says he warned then-coach Eric Mangini not to select him.