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Jets coach Rex Ryan can envision a scenario where offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer doesn’t return to the team this year.

“Do I expect him back?” Ryan said Friday. “It’s probably 50-50 on that because I think there is an opportunity for Brian to get a head coaching job this year.”

If that doesn’t happen, Ryan says he “expects” Schottenheimer will return to the Jets. Those words were even stronger than what Ryan said earlier in the week about Schottenheimer.

There’s not much else Ryan can say right now, but we suspect this wasn’t just coachspeak. The Jets think highly of Schottenheimer, even if the Jets fanbase doesn’t.

While Schottenheimer is the most logical candidate for a scapegoat in New York, we wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Jets stayed the course.