Rex Ryan apologizes for Amari Cooper 'turd' comment ... then doubles down

ESPN analyst Rex Ryan made some pretty harsh comments about Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper on ESPN's "Get Up" Friday morning. Those comments included calling Cooper a "turd," among other things, and bashed the Cowboys for signing him to a five-year, $100 million deal.

The former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach later apologized for the comments during "SportsCenter" after receiving a heap of backlash for the unwarranted criticism.

“First off, I mean, I can’t believe I said that. I used that word. Obviously it was a poor choice by me to say what I said about Amari,” Ryan said on “SportsCenter.”

But after his apology, Ryan went on to double down on his comments about the Cowboys overspending for a player who isn't "elite."

“Quite honestly, I think the world of every player and have a great deal of respect for every single player in the National Football League, including Amari Cooper,” Ryan said. “Now with that being said, I think the Cowboys overspent for Amari Cooper. And the reason for it is, I don’t doubt this is an elite player. He has those traits. But an elite player to me shows up on the road, he shows up against great corners, and he shows up in crunch time. 

"And those are three things that Amari Cooper has not done so far in his career. In fact, I think he’s won one playoff game as a player. And all those things are how I feel about this young man as a receiver.”