Brutal format here, but let's rock.
Brown and Mario
Brown and Mario only? Not Dareus? And when did Brown become a bad seed? Today, with his comments? Never really heard anything bad about him.
Because these two have done jack **** in 2015 and Rex Ryan is 1000 more proven than either of them. And because Mario, KW, Dareus and Hughes have been together since 2012 and had one year of true greatness. And any argument to the contrary is a tremendous oversell.
If we're saying that Mario and Brown sucked in 2015, did Rex not also suck in 2015? So that's, at the very least, a wash, no? And didn't KW, Dareus, and Mario all make the Pro-Bowl in 2013? And Jerry Hughes had double digit sacks in 2013 and 2014? Is that not pretty good to great? In fact, the year that we achieved greatness, didn't we also vastly improve our LB group? Bradham and Brown both had good to great years. So maybe the entire defensive unit didn't dominate, but the line dominating, in 2013 was due to weak(er) LB's? I mean, what changed from 2013 to 14? Got rid of a pseudo-RR scheme, went 4-3 where Bradham could really thrive, and added a decent LB starter, and we were off, right? Seems like we could do that again, no?
I have never advocating gutting the roster. That's a strawman.
But by virtue of advocating for Rex, you are. Do you think RR will keep Bradham, an LB who struggled in this system, but thrived in 2014? Do you think he'll keep KW, an older player, with a history of injuries, large cap hit, and no true fit on his defense? Will RR look to relegate Brown to a bench player or cut him outright? Will Mario be here? Will McKelvin be cut, for the same reasons as KW, and coming off his worst year since 2012? Will Duke Williams be here? Corey Graham, an S who struggled at times, and who also carries a large cap hit? Dareus will be here, but he's also been anti-Rex.
By my count, we need to upgrade/replace about 7 positions on this defense, not to mention depth, if we keep Rex. 3 new LB's, 3 new DL's, and 2 safeties (pending on AW). How many players would we need to upgrade/replace if we fired him and went with a 4-3 guy? LB's, maybe 1 more? 1 S? No new DL's? Like I said before, RR isn't going to fill all the holes he has created on defense, and finding the upgrades on O in one season. He has literally created holes. And by advocating for him, you are advocating for more holes, and more deficiencies, and almost a total rebuild. There may be 4 players safe on this defense this offseason. 4. Four. How is that not the roster being gutted?
That's a false choice.
See above. It really isn't.
Edit: One small point, Hughes was added in 2013. They've been together for 3 years, had two good-great years.