Did The Bills Fire Rex Ryan Too Early? Nope
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
So, the Buffalo Bills canned Rex Ryan after what is pretty much two .500 years in his tenure. Some are a tad shocked thinking that the Bills knee-jerked the move while others are going "yeah and?"
For me, you can put me in the same category with the latter.
Funny thing was, as a Falcons fan I wanted Rex Ryan to coach the Falcons after the 2014 season after seeing Mike Smith take Atlanta as far as he could and see him with mismanaging the clock that costed him 3 games in 2014 (which had he managed it correctly, Atlanta wins those 3 games and are in the playoffs and he probably still coaches the Falcons). I also wanted Ryan because of the needed attitude change Atlanta had of being a soft team, especially on defense where the Falcons were considered weak. Instead, Atlanta waited on Dan Quinn from Seattle and to this point that has paid out dividends.
But back to Rex Ryan, when he was the coach of the Jets, he did a lot of things that infuriated people, notably boasting about they would beat New England year in and year out, boast about his players about how they were the best players at their spot in football, planning Super Bowl victory parades, etc. and defended his guys and somewhat became "one of the boys" as well as players labeled him a players' coach.
Ryan always aimed at Belicheck and the Patriots in his time with the Jets.
But the thing was, it worked. Ryan's first two years with the Jets were ones of the best runs New York had with making two AFC Championship games, including the second year of throttling New England in Foxboro. Ryan was praised for his philosophy of strong defense and a solid running game because of it. Unfortunately for Ryan, it did not last long. The Jets started to fall apart whether it was because they changed the views of moving away from the run and trying to open up with the passing game with Mark Sanchez (whom is not/was not a quality passing quarterback). The Jets went from being a threat to a joke in no time, capped off by the famous butt-fumble by Sanchez. Despite still having a good defense in his time but somewhat talking his way into trouble with even the Jets brass (notably over Darrelle Revis), Ryan was let go after the 2014 season.
The Bills picked him up and Ryan was going to bring that same tough-minded defense to Buffalo like he had in New York. One issue though: the Bills already had a stout defense. Ryan needed to work on the offense as it still had issues at QB ever since, well, Doug Flutie really. EJ Manuel was supposed to be the guy in Buffalo, but underachieved and Ryan brought in Tyrod Taylor from Baltimore and Taylor's play was solid. However, Buffalo did not make a dent in the highly competitive AFC for the playoffs and still were a far cry away from the Patriots. This year there was hope with Taylor, who signed a 6 year, $92 million contract before the season began. And while Taylor has played solid, it isn't anything close to what the Bills need to be for offense in the NFL (31st in passing offense) and fired their offensive coordinator early on in the season. And while he brought in his brother Rob to work the defense, Buffalo is now in the bottom half of total defense in the league (19th). Add the fact that the players have practically tuned him out and feel like he hasn't a clue on what he's doing, Rex Ryan was dead man walking.
Ryan's coaching blunders against Miami was indicative of how he has coached since 2011.
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
The final straw for Ryan was the Dolphins game as the Bills had numerous chances to put away the Dolphins and failed. Some were bonehead penalties (10 men on the field?), poor playcalling on the offense, mismanaging clock situations (i.e. calling a time out AFTER the game-tying FG by Miami?) and it seemed late in the game the Bills players just clocked out. It was evident Rex Ryan was a dead man walking in Buffalo.
So............the Ryan brothers are gone from Buffalo, which was a disappointment for Bills fans as many hoped he would turn the franchise around after a league long 17 years without a playoff appearance. And Rex Ryan has really nobody to blame but for himself.
I am not one who thinks that a coach should be fired after two years, but Ryan took the Bills backwards since 2014. And the place he really took them backwards was the defense. I don't think Rex Ryan was fired and underachieved in Buffalo because he didn't change from his days in New York, but I don't think he changed/adapted well enough to get the Bills into the playoffs. It seemed like he was somewhat caged in his first year in Buffalo, saying the right things and trying to be cool, calm, and collective while continuing to be a players' coach. However, this year, he seemed like he went back to old habits, losing his composure at times and making questionable calls. It really did not set well with the Bills players, especially on defense, and that ultimately caused his downfall. And if you're an NFL head coach and you lost your team, it doesn't matter how long you've coached there, you are as good as gone. And Rex Ryan found that out today.
-Fan in the Obstructed Seat
