Washington Redskins: Rex Ryan should be seriously considered
By Hunter Noll
The Washington Redskins need to find a new head coach now that they’ve fired Jay Gruden. Rex Ryan should be a serious contender in their search.
The Washington Redskins found themselves the victims of yet another blowout in Week 5. That moved their 2019 record to an absolutely disgusting 0-5. Naturally, that meant it was time for a change. Head coach Jay Gruden was fired.
Now, you could argue that this doesn’t solve all of Washington’s problems. That’s very true. As long as Bruce Allen is the general manager and Dan Snyder is the owner, the Redskins will be facing a tough uphill battle. That being said, you could still make major progress with the right replacement to Gruden.
A lot of names have already been heard and a lot more will be rumored while Washington is still searching. One name that should get some serious consideration is Rex Ryan.
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Okay, I know there are a few things you can argue here. The first is that a lot of people want a “new and young face”. Those don’t just grow on trees though. You don’t just find a Sean McVay out of nowhere (I know it’s painful because he was in Washington).
With this front office, it would make more sense to bring in an established name. Someone that can come in with a proven history. This is important because the Redskins can’t have a “Yes Man”. They can’t have someone that will just come in a do what the front office tells them to whenever they tell them to do it.
Someone with no real head coaching experience would likely fall into that role. Without any previous work to show, they won’t really hold any power over the front office.
Another point is that many fans want Mike Tomlin. Yes, he’d be great but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Tomlin is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Until that changes, he’s not a very probable option. A trade simply isn’t likely.
Then there’s Bill Callahan. Some fans are already in on the interim head coach after his press conference on Wednesday. It was absolutely informative and he said some things you should love. However, Washington is still going to want to look at other options. That’s where the interviews come into play.
As for Rex Ryan, he won’t be that Yes Man. Ryan will come in with his idea of what works and he’ll want to give it a try. He won’t just back down to whatever Snyder and Allen ask for. Not everything will work, but that’s expected. It’s more about trying something different, not just the same cookie cutter moves.
Then there are the player relationships. A big knock on Gruden was that he was too soft. The practices were far too laid back and he was too friendly with the players. Yes, Rex Ryan is absolutely friendly with the players. He was also able to buckle down on his teams, though. It helped create a hard-nosed identity on those 2009 and 2010 New York Jets teams.
Speaking of those teams, they won four playoff games. That’s two more than the Redskins have won in the 21 years of the Dan Snyder era.
And what about the defense? Washington’s defense was supposed to be it’s identity in 2019. They were expected to be extremely good. Instead, they’ve looked downright bad through five weeks. Remember those New York defenses? Even the Buffalo Bills from a few seasons ago when Ryan was there were strong.
Now imagine Ryan getting to work with Landon Collins, Jonathan Allen, Da’Ron Payne and Matthew Ioaniddis. He can develop Montez Sweat too. And mold Jimmy Moreland and Adonis Alexander as serious defensive backs.
As for Dwayne Haskins, that might be worrisome to fans. Ryan won with Mark Sanchez, but he never turned him into anything. Something people love about Ryan nowadays, though, is his humility. He’s quick to poke fun at himself and seems to know what his flaws are. It’s safe to assume he’d bring in a “quarterback guru” to work with Haskins, not putting that on himself.
The bottom line is simple: Ryan is a veteran head coach who has actually won before. He can forge a relationship with the players but won’t be as “soft” as Gruden and will be able to deal with Snyder and Allen just fine.
I’m not saying Washington should hire him. Simply, they should give him an interview. See if he’s the right fit. The problem with that is pretty obvious, though. If Rex Ryan is indeed someone who wouldn’t be a lapdog for Allen and Snyder, he likely won’t get the job.