It appeared as though Rex Ryan might have learned from his past blunders during a press conference at the end of the season when he admitted “The thing that kind of gives this team a black eye when we’re looking at it is that I let my mouth get ahead of everything.” However; he certainly has not changed at all after hiring his brother and again opening his mouth this morning on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike.
Rex hiring his brother Rob Ryan is about the most Rex thing he could have done. The speculation was there after his brother was fired from his position as defensive coordinator of the worst defense in the league, the New Orleans Saints. He has been hired by the Bills as the “assistant head coach of defense.” So basically, the Bills made up a title for Rob Ryan so that Rex would be happy with his brother working with him.
Rob Ryan has been a defensive coordinator for twelve years now, with stops in Oakland, Cleveland, Dallas, and most recently New Orleans. None of his defenses with any of those teams have been good by any means, but somehow he still convinces teams that he is the right man for the job. Certainly he didn’t do much convincing with the Bills, I’m sure Rex did enough of that.
Maybe it isn’t the worst thing for the Bills though, having someone who Rex respects and will listen to could help this defense. The best case scenario is they work well together and both have input on the defense that makes everyone better. The worst case scenario and way more probable one is that they end up fighting over different opinions about the defensive scheme creating drama and taking the focus away from football.
This morning on Mike & Mike Rex basically said the same things he has said all year. When talking about the type defense Buffalo will be next season he said “we’re going to be all in and we’re going to play Buffalo Bill defense, and we’re not going to be fun to play.” What exactly is “Buffalo Bill defense” Rex? This past season it meant plenty of time for the quarterback to throw, wide open running lanes, and missed tackles. Buffalo Bills defense before Rex was the 4th best in the league, with Rex it was the 19th ranked defense.
If we learned anything from Rex this morning it is that we should all be ready to hear plenty of talk from him all off-season. Now with brother Rob on board we will have to listen to promises and guarantees from two Ryan family members. Hopefully the move to bring an extra defensive mind on board works, but I’ not expecting much good to come from this move.