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Rex Ryan

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Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan (born December 13, 1962 in Ardmore, Oklahoma) is an American football head coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He is the son of former Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals head coach Buddy Ryan and is the twin brother of Rob Ryan, defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.

Early life

Ryan knew that he wanted to become a football coach as early as age 6.[1]

When his parents, Doris and Buddy Ryan, divorced in 1966, Rex and his twin brother Rob, moved with Doris to Toronto.[1] In 1974, they moved back to the United States to live with their father.

Playing career

College

After attending Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Ryan played defensive end at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma alongside Rob.

Coaching career

College

Assistant coach

Ryan coached at Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) Eastern Kentucky and Division II New Mexico Highlands before joining the Division I ranks as Morehead State's defensive coordinator in 1990. Following his initial NFL coaching experience, Ryan served as the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and Oklahoma. He also served as defensive coordinator at Kansas State where he served under legendary head coach Bill Snyder for several weeks in 1999.[2]

National Football League

Assistant coach

Ryan as Ravens assistant coach, August 2008.

Ryan was a defensive line/linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals from 1994 to 1995, when his father, Buddy, was head coach.

Ryan joined the Ravens as a defensive line coach in 1999, earning a Super Bowl XXXV ring with the 2000 team. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2005 after the departure of Mike Nolan, who became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.[3] In 2006, Ryan received Assistant Coach of the Year awards from Pro Football Weekly and the Pro Football Writers Association.[4]

In 2008, Ravens head coach Brian Billick and the entire coaching staff were fired following a 5-11 season. Ryan was one of six candidates interviewed for the Ravens' head coaching vacancy, which was filled by John Harbaugh. Harbaugh, who previously coached with Ryan at the University of Cincinnati, retained Ryan as defensive coordinator and promoted him to assistant head coach.[5]

Before his promotion, Ryan also interviewed for head coaching positions with Miami,[6] who hired Tony Sparano, and Atlanta,[7] who hired Mike Smith.

Head coach

New York Jets
Ryan as head coach, conducting a June 2009 New York Jets mini-camp at their Florham Park, New Jersey training center

After firing Eric Mangini, the New York Jets offered Ryan a four-year deal to become their head coach following Baltimore's loss in the 2008 AFC Championship. Ryan accepted the offer on January 21, 2009 - with a 4 year contract netting him $11.5 million .[8]

Ryan won his first game against the Houston Texans, who had very high hopes for their offense coming into the new season. Ryan and the Jets defense prevented Houston's offense from scoring any touchdowns in that game, and did so again against the New England Patriots. In the offseason, Rex Ryan stated in an interview for the radio, "I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick's rings." and in the week prior to the game sent a voice mail message to season ticket holders urging them to make it "miserable for Brady and company". When the Patriots met the Jets, New York held the Patriots to no offensive touchdowns, and intercepted Tom Brady once in the game. This was enough to beat them 16-9, their first home victory against the Patriots since 2000. Ryan won his next game against the Titans, but lost against the New Orleans Saints in week 4. The defense became the Jets trademark in the first few games of the season, but began to struggle on Monday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins in week 5. The Jets gave up 31 points and lost the game with only a few seconds left on the clock. In week 10, the Jets lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-22 on a last second field goal.

The Jets captured a wild card playoff berth by winning their last two games. The first was a victory in Indianapolis to the previously undefeated Colts. The final game of the season saw the Jets defeat the Bengals 37-0 at Giants Stadium, the last sporting event for the venue, as Ryan's defense held Cincinnati to 72 total rushing yards, and 0 total yards passing. Ryan's club defeated Cincinnati again the following week, this time at Paul Brown Stadium, in the AFC Wild Card playoff round. On January 17, 2010, Ryan led the Jets to upset the San Diego Chargers, 17-14, on their way to the AFC Championship game. The New York Jets subsequently lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game, 30-17.

On January 30, 2010, Ryan flashed an obscene gesture towards heckling Miami Dolphins fans during a Strikeforce mixed martial arts event at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. Ryan has apologized for his actions, stating that it was "stupid and inappropriate."[9] Ryan was fined $50,000 by the Jets for his actions.[10] On July 30, 2010 Ryan signed a two year extension that will keep him in New York through 2014.[11]

On August 5, 2010 Ryan wrote on the ESPN's Tour Bus "Soon To Be Champs", signing a guarantee of a Super Bowl win; similar to the guarantee that Joe Namath tolled before winning Super Bowl III 16-7 against the Baltimore Colts . Ryan stated that he will not apologize for writing the words by also stating that “I just know what’s going to happen. My crystal ball, I’m seeing a Super Bowl trophy in there. Now, I could be wrong, but that’s what I see. But every time I go to work, that’s what I look at.” Ryan has said many times that the Jets are a Super Bowl-caliber team, and has irritated some fans, opposing players and media with his bold, sometimes-outrageous comments. By finally saying "I’m not embarrassed to say that I believe that will happen,” Ryan said. “The great thing is we get to prove it soon. That’s the beauty of it.”[12]

The Jets went 11-5 in 2010 in Ryan's second year as Head Coach. They qualified as a Wild Card team for the 2010 playoffs. The Jets beat the Indianapolis Colts 17-16 on January 8, 2011 on the road in the Wild Card game to qualify for the Division Playoffs. The next week, on January 16, they defeated the New England Patriots 28-21 to qualify for the AFC Conference Championship against the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second straight year. Also, they were the first team in NFL history to defeat the Colts and Patriots in back-to-back weeks.

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular Season Post Season Overall
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result Won Lost Tie Win % G
NYJ 2009 9 7 0 .562 2nd in AFC East 2 1 .667 Lost to the Indianapolis Colts in AFC Championship Game. 11 8 0 .579 19
NYJ 2010 11 5 0 .688 2nd in AFC East 2 0 1.000 vs Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Championship Game. 13 5 0 .722 18
NYJ Total 20 12 0 .625 4 1 .800 24 13 0 .648 37
Total 20 12 0 .625 4 1 .800 24 13 0 .648 37
  • Totals through Week 15 of the 2010 NFL Season.

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Rex Ryan has served:

Assistant coaches under Rex Ryan who have become NFL head coaches:

  • No Coaches

Personal life

Rex and his wife Michelle have two sons, Payton and Seth.[13] Ryan earned a bachelor of science from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and master's degree in physical education from Eastern Kentucky University. Now he resides in Summit, New Jersey. Rex had grown up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and had spent his formative years in the city following his parents' divorce.[14]

Ryan has dyslexia.[15]

Weight Loss Surgery

On Saturday, March 13, 2010 Ryan had lap-band surgery at NYU Medical Center to help him fight his obesity. During this same stay he also had a hernia repaired. This came as something of a surprise to many, as Ryan had just been seen the night before trying to recruit then free-agent running back LaDainian Tomlinson to play for the New York Jets (Tomlinson would later sign with the Jets) The procedure went well enough that he was able to go back and rest at his New Jersey home that same night. Following a three-week period he had lost 40 pounds.[16][17]

Book

Ryan is planning to write a book that is an autobiography and football strategy. The book, which is untitled, is set to be published by Doubleday in the spring of 2011. The Book will be co-written by Don Yaeger, a former Sports Illustrated editor who has co-authored the autobiographies of three former NFL players (Warren Moon, Walter Payton, and Warrick Dunn). Jason Kaufman, vice president and executive editor of Doubleday, said Ryan "has such a powerful and unique leadership style" and he expects the book "to demonstrate how you lead in certain circumstances."[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Merrill, Elizabeth (January 21, 2009). "Rex Ryan's swagger leads Jets". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  2. ^ Haskin, Kevin (1999-02-5). "Ryan accepts job Cats' Ryan accepts job with Ravens". bnet. Retrieved 2011-01-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Ginsberg, David (2005-01-18). "Ravens hire Fassel, Neuheisel; promote Ryan to run defense". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  4. ^ "Rex Ryan's Bio". New York Jets. Retrieved 2009-02-16. [dead link]
  5. ^ Powell, Camille (2008-01-29). "Ryan Welcomed Back as Ravens' Coordinator". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  6. ^ "Former Ravens assistant Ryan interviews with Dolphins". USA Today. Associated Press. 2008-01-08. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  7. ^ "Ryan emerges as front-runner for Falcons head coach job". www.espn.com. 2008-01-14. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  8. ^ "Ryan accepts Jets' four-year offer". www.espn.com. 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  9. ^ "Jets' Ryan calls incident 'stupid'". www.espn.com. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  10. ^ New York Jets fine head coach Rex Ryan $50,000 for giving middle finger to Dolphins fans in Florida New York Daily News
  11. ^ "Jets sign coach Ryan, GM Tannenbaum to contract extensions". NFL.com. 2010-07-30. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  12. ^ "Jets' Ryan signs name to Super Bowl guarantee". yahoo.com. Associated Press. August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  13. ^ Rex Ryan. "Rex Ryan". New York Jets. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  14. ^ Bishop, Greg. "Rex Ryan". New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  15. ^ Dawidoff, Nicholas (2010-09-08). "Bringing it Big: Rex Ryan Isn't Like Other Coaches". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  16. ^ [1] The Huffington Post
  17. ^ [2] The Huffington Post
  18. ^ "Never short on words, Jets coach Ryan is authoring a book". NFL.com from The Associated Press. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator
2005–2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New York Jets Head Coach
2009–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent

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