Rex Ryan has claimed that the New York Jets hierarchy were pulling away from him in his final year at the club.

Ryan was fired by the AFC East outfit following their 4-12 season, but the 53-year-old believes that the writing was on the wall when he met members of the club's board at the start of the campaign.

He told WFAN: "They had a meeting. It was on branding, it was on all this other stuff. Basically, it was clear then that they were trying to push away from me. And for whatever reason, that is fine.

"I never asked to be the face of the franchise, it just turned out that way, but it's the way it is. I am no longer there now."

Ryan was appointed as head coach of the Jets' AFC East rivals the Buffalo Bills weeks after his dismissal by the club.