If there is one thing that can be said about Buffalo Bills and former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, it is that he can find a way to lighten the mood and crack a smile at almost any given moment no matter the situation. He even managed to crack a joke about looking for his long-lost father when he said it may just be his new head coach, Rex Ryan.
“He might be my long-lost dad,” Jones said with a laugh. “I’ve been looking for that guy for 23 years. I found him.”
Of course, he did not mean this literally. Jones knows Ryan is not actually his father, but he is suggesting he feels comfortable with his budding player-coach relationship with Ryan. Jones is also showing a tremendous amount of respect for Ryan by suggesting he is like a father, even if mildly joking about it.
“He’s a great guy, already. When I got to visit here in Buffalo he just had some pretty honest remarks. He told a couple of (Ohio State) players, ‘Dude, we’re not going to freaking draft you guys. You guys are going to be gone before we can draft you.’
“He’s not here to B.S. you and stuff like this. It’s pretty sweet. When they called, I’m not sure who I talked to first. I’m pretty sure I talked to everybody in the organization and their wives, but coach Ryan, man, he stood out. Because he basically said, ‘Hey, we don’t B.S. here. I told you we were going to get you and you were on the table when we had an opportunity to. Just the team meeting today and the things he said out there today to us let me know he demands excellence but we’re going to have a great time doing it. “
Ryan has been known to tell it straight since emerging as a head coach in the NFL, and he has never been one to come off as an indirect person. Having that kind of demeanor can be important for a head coach, and it clearly works for Ryan, who is known to be a pretty well-respected players’ coach. The initial feelings about Ryan coming from Jones strengthen that thought.
