Cole gets a kick from Jets boss, McLegends

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New York Jets cornerback Marquice Cole (34) gestures to running back LaDainian Tomlinson (21) during practice Friday, Jan. 14, 2011, in Florham Park, N.J. The Jets play the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional playoff game Sunday. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

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Updated: January 23, 2012 2:10AM

You play in the glare of the harshest media spotlight in the world. You play a game in which careers can be over in a New York minute. You discover, not too far ahead of the rest of the YouTube-loving planet, your coach is a bit of a freaky-deaky.

What to do?

Well, you’re sure as heck not going to tiptoe around Rex Ryan.

“We always have his back,” New York Jets cornerback Marquice Cole said.

It helped that Ryan was upfront, coming to his team with word that he and his wife were soon to be portrayed to the world, thanks to some old YouTube posts, as foot fetishists.

“It was a personal matter,” Cole, a Hillcrest graduate, said. “It didn’t affect us at all.

“And regardless of what’s happening, he’s going to be Rex, he’s a defensive genius and we’re going to have the best game plan every week. He’s awesome.”

In mid-December, Ryan was getting kicked around pretty good. In mid-January, his Jets — with Cole’s role increasing all the while — moved within one game of the Super Bowl before falling to Pittsburgh in the AFC title game.

Cole, giving it a go with his fourth team in four years, finally found his way to the field with some regularity. A gunner cherished for his speed, he made 15 special-teams tackles, and at corner made his first NFL start in the final game of the regular season, picking off two passes and returning one 35 yards for a touchdown.

Not a bad 2010 for a guy who went undrafted out of Northwestern in 2007 and subsequently was waived twice.

In January, Cole signed a one-year contract with the Jets. Of course, this being the NFL, the hit was coming — now, he and the rest of his fellow players are locked out in a labor dispute with league management.

“I’d like to think that there’s a lot of money in this business, and with all the time left before the season, we wouldn’t miss any time,” Cole said.

Meanwhile, Cole has another can’t-miss contest on his agenda: McLegends X.

He was a bit player in IX, his first McLegends experience.

“I can play a little bit,” he said. “I just keep it under wraps.”

Some of his teammates weren’t so laid back — especially ex-Patriots safety Rodney Harrison.

“Rodney was ready to take peoples’ heads off,” Cole said, laughing. “I ain’t with all that.

“But it’s cool. It’s a lot of fun. And it’s always good to be able to give back to your community.”

That Saturday’s 10th edition of the high school all-stars vs. area legends game is at Thornton High School — where McLegends players Antwaan Randle El and Napoleon Harris have never lost — raises the stakes a bit higher.

“Well, we won last year,” Cole said. “So we don’t plan on doing anything different this time.”

Big-name hunters

Memorabilia collectors and speculators might want to get in on Friday’s pre-McLegends silent auction at the Hoopla event at the Lincoln Oasis over I-80/294 in South Holland.

Items up for bid will include a ball autographed by all the players at the recent McDonald’s All-American game in Chicago, signed balls from Harrison, new Hall of Famer Richard Dent, the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and former WNBA MVP Candace Parker.

Randle El has donated a signed jersey, and four players have donated signed mini-helmets.

If you know any future McLegends, you might want to bid on one of four scholarships to a 2011 Bulls/White Sox Training Academy summer camp.

Parting shots

Sorry, no signed Canadian Monopoly money from the Marty Turco collection — but it’s nice that the NHL was smart enough not to bust the bust of a Hawks goalie for having a little fun with fans sitting near the visiting bench in Montreal last week. ... Hate to sound like a Wrigleyville ticket broker, but, as far as the McLegends game goes, good seats are still available. ... So, the Bulls are going to be a No. 1 seed and the Hawks are a bubble team for the playoffs — and six months ago, we all expected the reverse — which is why I encourage Cubs fans everywhere to go ahead and make those crosstown classic bets with your Sox fan friends.