Rex and Rob Ryan have been ever-present in the NFL as defensive coaches and in Rex’s case, a head coach, ever since their father Buddy brought them on to his coaching staff. It’s been since 1995 when their father coached the Arizona Cardinals that they’ve been on the same coaching staff together, so how it will work with Rob as an assistant head coach/defense (not defensive coordinator) remains to be seen.
But NFL fans can know this for sure, it will be entertaining. Their recent joint interview with Jenny Vrentas of MMQB give insight as to what the world will see come the fall.
Rex didn’t waste much time jabbing his brother about his weight.
REX: He talks about the hunger that he has. That’s because he had the lap band removed.
ROB: I did. I am excruciatingly hungry right now.
REX: That dude is starving right now.
If this is what the two brothers are going to be like around each other, can they hold at least one joint press conference every week? I’d love to know the story about that lap band, because it’s probably great.
Rob had a chance to talk about his experiences in New Orleans as defensive coordinator with the Saints and why that unit was particularly poor.
The defenses I have taken over were ranked, like, 31st. Oh, “my numbers aren’t too good.” You take over the 31st group and see how you do. And you’re given about two years to do it. There are two years that don’t have my signature on them, and it’s the last two years in New Orleans. And that’s just the truth.
He elaborated further when Vrentas asked about whether or not he was forced to run a different system than what he wanted to.
No, I’m not going to say I was “forced.” I advanced the plan to the best of my ability. All of a sudden, we let some good players go; we changed the system after we finished fourth in the league in defense. I don’t know, it just seems strange to me. But I have a lot to prove, and I’m going to prove it. And that’s why I came to Buffalo, to be “all in,” right here. People can throw stones, but we will be throwing them back at them. They better be watching out.
So what are Rob’s day-to-day responsibilities in this newly created role?
I get to be a part of the defense. With Rex, it has already been established here, our core beliefs. I am a new guy coming in, so the first thing I did is learn the defense. Now, whatever I can add to it, it is easy to talk to Rex and Dennis, and say, here’s something to look at. Rex gives me projects to do that are going to help our team in the long run, a lot of research to hopefully make a simple solution for situations we need to get better in. I attack those wholeheartedly. Any people I can help on this team, I am going to help. I am not going to sit on my hands, like I did in New Orleans. The biggest mistake I think I made in New Orleans was sitting on my hands and collecting a paycheck, instead of going in, knowing it was wrong and fixing it.
Away from football, Vrentas asked about how the two Ryan’s might act like fraternal twins, and the response was typically Ryan:
REX: See, now this two egg thing, there is no chance, right? Two identical eggs. Maybe that’s what it is.
ROB: Honestly, there could be a mistake.
REX: I’ll see a picture of us when we were kids, and I have no idea who it is.
ROB: Back when we really looked alike, you can’t tell.
REX: We sound exactly the same, we are the same kind of people, we like the same foods, we look at things the same way. And we are in the same profession.
There is much more with the two Ryans in their interview here, and it’s typically Ryan. The Bills are going to be must see television this season.
[MMQB]
