Rex Ryan hastily chose the Buffalo Bills from a bevy of NFL head coaching jobs. Was he motivated by defense, cowardice, or simply Bill Belichick? Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.
TODD:
I would pay good money to get an off-the-record chat with former Jets head coach Rex Ryan about his offseason decision to become the next coach of the Buffalo Bills.
I say off-the-record because I don’t want a cliche-laden speech about tough defense and taking down his old team twice a year and vanquishing the Patriots and reviving a once-great football town.
I want the truth as to why he would ever put himself in a Jets 2.0 situation.
By all accounts, Ryan had many suitors and options this offseason. Although he was fired for essentially failing at his job, many teams coveted his skills. He had the proverbial pick of the litter of openings.
He chose Buffalo.
Buffalo is the home to one of the very few quarterback situations as poor as the Jets. EJ Manuel‘s future in the NFL is uncertain, and the team has no other in-house option right now after Kyle Orton announced his retirement.
Perhaps the easiest way to sum up the Bills would be to say they were in trouble once Orton retired.
Of course, this team has a great defense that can vie for the title of best in the league with Ryan on the sidelines. But isn’t Ryan’s skill supposed to be coaching up defenses? Wouldn’t he have clearly been better served taking a job like Atlanta where the offense is proven and the defense can be groomed? Why would he want to suffer through another Jets-like cycle?
My only explanation is Ryan is, for lack of a better term, a bit of a coward.
I don’t mean to besmirch his name, but why else would he go to a team with an already great defense unless he was afraid he couldn’t jump-start another unit? Why would he go to a team with such a questionable offensive future unless he wanted that excuse in his back pocket?
Ryan has now set himself up to repeat the same spin cycle he just got out of. I can see it now:
Rex Ryan gets fired in four years after Buffalo trudges through one or two borderline playoff years where the defense carries the offense to 8, 9, maybe even 10 wins. But the season always ends in failure because the offense hasn’t been developed. Upon his dismissal, Ryan then has a number of suitors waiting in the wings because, after all, he’s such a great defensive coach and all he needs is a QB to score for him.
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DAN:
I agree with you, Rex Ryan’s decision to coach the Bills was questionable. But I do not think he’s a coward. That part, we disagree.
With a number of solid head coaching vacancies I initially found it surprising that Ryan chose Buffalo. But of all the open coaching positions, no one expected Buffalo to even be available. No one expected then current head coach Doug Marrone to opt out of his contract and leave the team. But he did and Ryan pounced. He saw an opportunity to prove he could beat Bill Belichick, his one true rival. He saw an opportunity to conquer the division he’d always wanted, the AFC East.
Rex Ryan knows himself and his talents. He knows that he can go all-the-way with a great defense and disciplined offense with a strong running game. He did it twice in New York and that’s what he sees in Buffalo. He sees an excellent defense that he can make all-time great. Screw making a bad defense good, he wants to run the BEST defense in league history. Ryan must hate reading headlines about how amazing the Seahawks’ unit is. In Buffalo he hopes to become greater.
As for the offense and lack of a quarterback, the Bills have proven they will add a veteran signal caller and rally behind him as their starter, rather than relying on a rookie or struggling sophomore. Buffalo might not have their quarterback on roster, but their will be plenty of veteran quarterbacks to pick from. Men like Jay Cutler may be available in the offseason. Buffalo’s history was enough to woo Rex Ryan.
On the surface its odd that Ryan rushed into a decision, but this was obviously a top choice. I would have loved to see him in San Francisco or Denver, but the aura of Bill Belichick was too strong. Ryan wanted to defeat him and take the division; in Buffalo he still has a chance.
Next: Does Bryce Brown have a future with the Bills?
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