to lure former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher out of retirement, suggesting that Cowher might be given control of football operations in addition to serving as coach. However, Cowher decided to remain retired for the season. On January 20, 2009, the Jets offered the position to Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who accepted. Tannenbaum engineered a draft-day trade with Cleveland, which enabled New York to move up and select highly regarded USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. New York won its first three games of 2009, including their first home victory over the Patriots since 2000, but lost six of its next seven games. The Jets recovered to 7–6, but then lost to the Atlanta Falcons on December 20, a defeat that caused Ryan to state that the Jets "were obviously out of the playoffs". The next week, the Jets played the 14–0 Indianapolis Colts. The Colts removed many of their starting players from the game early in the second half with a 15–10 lead; the Jets came back for the victory. The victory put the Jets' fate in their own hands, and they defeated the Bengals (who had also clinched a playoff spot and played few starters) in the last game ever at Giants Stadium to secure a playoff berth. The following week, the team played the Bengals in the playoffs, this time at Paul Brown Stadium, and secured a 24–14 victory over Cincinnati. That victory meant that the Jets would travel to San Diego to play the Chargers, who had won eleven straight games, in the divisional round. Strong performances by Sanchez, running back Shonn Greene, and the Jets defense helped the Jets to a 17–14 win over the Chargers. New York played the top-seeded Colts in the AFC Championship Game and secured an early 17–6 lead. They had little luck in the second half as the Colts went to the Super Bowl with a 30–17 victory. The Jets had hoped to move into what was termed the West Side Stadium, to be built in Manhattan, after their 25-year lease at Giants Stadium expired. In 2005, it became clear that New York authorities would not permit the stadium to be built. After the West Side failure, the Jets and Giants entered into a joint venture to build a new $1.6 billion facility alongside Giants Stadium, which was torn down after the new venue was completed. The Jets' new