The Buffalo Bills hired Rex Ryan to be their new head coach, the team officially announced Monday morning. Ryan becomes the 18th head coach in Bills franchise history.
Bills hire Rex Ryan as head coach
Rex Ryan is staying in the AFC East after all.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
In a statement, new Bills owner Terry Pegula said, “Following an extensive search, we are pleased today to announce that Rex Ryan is our new head coach. Rex brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the position that we feel will be a tremendous benefit to our players and the entire Bills organization.”
Ryan was fired earlier this month by the New York Jets after six seasons. The Jets have not had a winning season in four years under Ryan, after consecutive trips to the conference championship in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Buffalo's head coaching vacancy opened up earlier in January after Doug Marrone used the opt-out clause in his contract after two seasons with the team.
NFL coaching rumors 2015
NFL coaching rumors 2015
Ryan is joining a Bills team that's in a very similar position the Jets were in when he took over there. He's a defensive-minded coach taking over a team that is loaded on defense, but is a mess at the quarterback position. After 2013 first-round pick EJ Manuel was benched earlier in the year, Kyle Orton took over and started the final 12 games while leading the Bills to a 9-7 record.
Orton retired this offseason though, leaving Manuel as the only legitimate quarterback on the roster. Ryan's first year in New York saw the Jets trade up in the NFL Draft to select Mark Sanchez, so once again he could look to move up and select one of this year's top quarterback prospects.
Bills blog Buffalo Rumblings thinks that the Bills and Ryan should be a great fit:
Considered one of the brightest defensive minds in the business, Ryan inherits a Bills defense that has three Pro Bowl defensive linemen (two of them are even first-team All Pros), and which finished in the Top 5 in 2014. Since 2005, Ryan’s defenses - whether in Baltimore as the defensive coordinator, or in New York - have not finished below a No. 12 ranking in the NFL. Basically, the Bills are going to have an awesome defense again in 2015.
He’ll also undoubtedly be a popular hire for a Bills locker room that had its previous head coach abandon them on New Year’s Eve. Ryan has always been a coach for which players love to play.
Former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman is expected to join Ryan in Buffalo, where he would coach the offense, according to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN. As for current Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, the team has "every intention" of keeping him, as reported by Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. However, Ryan does want to bring in current Jets defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman to Buffalo while keeping Schwartz in place. Thurman would most likely serve as a position coach.
Ryan's contract with Buffalo will be a five-year deal for $27.5 million, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Mehta also reports Ryan was high on the Bills because new team owners Terry and Kim Pegula "made him feel wanted." That wasn't the case in Atlanta, where Ryan interviewed for the head coaching job with the Falcons. Ryan reportedly felt that he didn't have the full support of Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff.
Ryan also interviewed with the 49ers earlier this month.
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