Rex Ryan went 7-8 as the Buffalo Bills’ coach in 2016, and was fired one week before the end of the season after a disappointing two-year run with the franchise.
According to the New York Daily News, Ryan had more goals than winning in 2016: he also wanted to help his brother Rob, who he brought in as defensive coordinator, get a head coaching job.
According to a well-placed source, Rex Ryan basically dedicated the 2016 season to resurrecting the reputation of his brother Rob, who most recently had been fired by the Cowboys and Saints. Rob was not the Bills defensive coordinator but had the run of the place. He was almost the co-head coach. It backfired on Rex and they both got canned. Bills owner Terry Pegula was so anxious to end the Ryan reign of error that he let him go with three years and $16.5 million left on his contract. Rex was so concerned about his brother that the staff became dysfunctional. Rex groupies will find it hard to believe it was his fault, but some of his actions behind the scenes were indicative of a coach with a death wish.
In retrospect, it looks like that hire was a bad idea in the first place.
Rob Ryan was fired from his last two defensive coordinator jobs—Dallas in 2012 and New Orleans in 2015—for sub-par defensive performances, and the same thing happened in Buffalo. Unless the Bills completely turned things around, Rob Ryan was never going to get a head coaching job. And it looks like Rex Ryan got them both fired prematurely by trying to help his brother.
