Buddy Ryan

Buddy Ryan

Buddy Ryan (born James David Ryan on February 17, 1934) is a former American football coach.

Early years

Buddy Ryan was raised in the tiny cotton community of Frederick, Oklahoma. Ryan played college football for Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State) where he earned four letters as a guard between 1952 and 1955.

Coaching

College

After serving in the United States Army during the Korean War as a Master Sergeant, and playing on the Fourth Army championship team in Japan, Ryan became an assistant football coach, first at several colleges including Pacific, Vanderbilt, and Buffalo, then with several professional football teams, starting with the American Football League's New York Jets in the 1960s

New York Jets

With the AFL's Jets, he and Walt Michaels' defensive game plan was instrumental in holding the NFL's Baltimore Colts to seven points in the third AFFL-NFL World Championship Game and earning Buddy his first Super Bowl ring. While a defensive line coach for the Jets he started the tradition of placing "bounties" on opposing quarterbacks, something that would gain him much notoriety later on.

Minnesota Vikings

In the mid-1970s Ryan was defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings where he was integral in directing the team's dominating defense. The defensive unit known as the "Purple People Eaters", was heralded for the defensive line's ability to punish rivals. Their motto was to "meet at the quarterback." This unit helped the Vikings to post-season appearances from 1973-78.

Chicago Bears

In 1978, Neill Armstrong was hired as head coach of the Chicago Bears. Armstong made the playoffs once in his four seasons with the Bears, but perhaps more importantly brought in Buddy Ryan as defensive coordinator. Ryan would revolutionize defensive football with his "46" package. He perhaps revolutionized offensive football as well, as offensive thinkers now had to come up with a quick passing game to neutralize the Ryan-inspired pass rush. He became a household name of sorts in the early 1980s. Armstrong was fired in 1982 and replaced by Mike Ditka, but Ryan was retained, in part, after the players presented a petition to owner George Halas. Ryan and Ditka were at constant odds, though Ditka gave Ryan complete control over the defense. Allegedly the two almost came to blows during halftime of the game in 1985 versus the Miami Dolphins where their bid for a perfect season was unraveling, with Ditka telling Ryan "We can do it any way you want to. We can go right out back and get it on or you can shape your ass up." After the Bears won the Super Bowl that followed the 1985 regular season in which their defense set several NFL records, Ryan was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as their head coach, which he had informed the defense of the night before Super Bowl XX. After trouncing the New England Patriots 46-10, the emotional Bears defense carried Ryan and Ditka off the field on their shoulders, a tradition usually reserved solely for the Head Coach.

Philadelphia Eagles

Ryan immediately became a highly controversial and divisive figure in Philadelphia, releasing running back Earnest Jackson, who had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in both of the previous two seasons (including with the Eagles in 1985) during training camp in 1986. On October 25, 1987 he came under fire again after calling a time-out on the last play of a game against the Dallas Cowboys to score another touchdown when the game's outcome was no longer in doubt. This was apparently Ryan's revenge against Dallas head coach Tom Landry, who Ryan felt had run up the score against the Eagles' replacement players during the 1987 players' strike, using many of the Cowboys players that had crossed the picket line. Starting in 1988, Ryan's Eagles did make the playoffs for three straight years, but would lose their first postseason game each time. On November 22, 1989 Ryan found himself at the center of yet another scandal, when Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson alleged that Ryan had taken out a "bounty" on two Cowboys players — then-current Dallas (and former Philadelphia) placekicker Luis Zendejas and quarterback Troy Aikman — in a game dubbed "Bounty Bowl" played on Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium. It was with the Eagles where Buddy Ryan would snub the midfield post game greet with the opposing coach in losses. Buddy would head, sometimes jogging, towards the locker room with a minute or less remaining to avoid this tradition.

Ryan's contract was not renewed by the Eagles on in 1991 after he went 43-38-1 in five seasons. He became a commentator before returning to coaching in 1993, this time as the defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers.

Houston Oilers

The Ryan-led defense helped propel the Oilers to an 11-game winning streak to end the 1993 regular season, only to be upset by Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Astrodome during the Divisional Round of the playoffs. He was most notably involved in a sideline altercation with then-offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride during a national broadcast. Ryan had been criticizing Gilbride's "run and shoot" offense for being ineffective, referring to it as the "chuck and duck." Gilbride took exception and told Ryan so, at which point Buddy grabbed him with one hand around the neck.

Arizona Cardinals

After being given a large share of the credit for the success in Houston in 1993, he was named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. Also named general manager of the Cardinals, Ryan went 8-8 his first year, but had a 4-12 nosedive the following season, rife with criticism that he ran his two drafts poorly and mishandled Arizona's quarterback situation as a GM. He lasted only two seasons there — where he had a record of 12-20 — before being fired again. He would subsequently retire to his farm in Kentucky, where he breeds race horses.

Legacy

Despite Ryan's controversial nature, his football and coaching accomplishments are many. He served with the staffs of three separate teams to make the Super Bowl on one or more occasions - the Bears, the Vikings, and the Jets. He made his reputation as a defensive specialist, enjoying success wherever he went and implementing and popularizing the famous 46 defense in particular. Indeed, the "46" became so effective and well-regarded that it was eventually imitated by every team in the league and its principles are now a standard part of football. Ryan also almost completely rebuilt the Eagles roster into a perennial NFC powerhouse team. He proved himself an excellent judge of talent, stocking the Eagles with players who would lead it to considerable success years after his departure. The 1991 Philadelphia Eagles defense, made up of his defensive stars, was arguably one of the greatest defenses of all time, leading the league in fewest passing yards allowed, fewest rushing yards allowed, and several other statistical categories. In the end, an overdependence on his quarterback Randall Cunningham would prove to be his downfall, despite building one of the greatest defenses of all time.

Ryan often had a gruff personality, but could also show compassion for his players. During training camp in 1990, while coaching the Eagles, Ryan released an up-and-coming young wide receiver named Cris Carter. Ryan subsequently explained to the media that he had cut Carter because Carter "only catches touchdowns" - an explanation for which Ryan was widely ridiculed for several years, especially after Carter was signed by the Minnesota Vikings with whom he almost immediately developed into one of the NFL's premiere passcatchers. Years later, however, it was revealed that Carter had had a serious drug problem, and that Ryan had released him from the Eagles to send him a wake-up call. Carter credits Ryan's actions with helping him to turn his life around.

Stephen Majewski dedicated his 1997 book “Great Linebackers” (MetroBooks) to Ryan.

Personal

Ryan's twin sons also became involved in football coaching and served at the college and professional level. His sons are Baltimore Ravens current defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and Oakland Raiders current defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.