National Football League

Jets dine with Magic, discuss keys to winning

Published May. 27, 2010 11:33 p.m. ET

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The New York Jets hope some Magic rubs off on them this season.

Owner Woody Johnson, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan recently had dinner with NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson at Il Postino restaurant in New York City.

``This guy was a champion for so many years, one of the elite players of all time,'' Ryan said Thursday, ``but he's also one of the best teammates of all time.''

The table of four discussed keys to being a winning organization, and Johnson's time under coach Pat Riley with the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson helped lead the Lakers to five NBA titles in the 1980s.

``You try to surround yourself around great people,'' Ryan said, smiling. ``At least that's what Magic told me anyway.''

After meeting Johnson at the Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley fight in Las Vegas earlier this month, the Jets arranged to meet when the former NBA All-Star was in the New York area.

``It wasn't Mike T because he's a Celtics fan,'' Ryan said of Tannenbaum, a former Massachusetts resident. ``If it was Larry Bird, that would have been Mike T.''

Johnson talked to Ryan about the 1992 Dream Team, the ``Lakers' Way'' and maintaining a consistent approach despite turnover on the roster - something the Jets experienced in a big way this offseason.

``When new guys come in, because you're going to get new players each year, they have to live up to those standards and buy into those standards,'' Ryan said. ``If they don't, you have to move on. That's something I've always been a big believer in, but when you hear a guy like Magic Johnson talk about it and the success that he had, I feel confident that we're on the right path.''