Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan, shown emoting here, could either be expressing excitement at a first down against his former New York Jets, or telling the world what a great defensive coach he is. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The tumultuous, voluble, and largely unfulfilling two-year tenure of Rex Ryan as head coach of the Bills came to an end Tuesday when team owner Terry Pegula announced he was firing the bombastic 54-year-old who failed to end Buffalo's embarrassing playoff drought, still going strong at 17 years.
Ryan blew into Buffalo with typical Ryan-centric bluster, proclaiming that not only would he get the Bills to the playoffs, they would compete for the Super Bowl, and they would do so with the best defense in the NFL. He leaves town having accomplished none of that, and in fact, may have driven the team further away from being a legitimate playoff contender.
Ryan's brother, Rob, whom Rex hired at the start of 2016, was also fired. Offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn will serve as head coach when the Bills close their season Sunday in New York against the Jets.
Pegula released a simple statement that read: "I spoke with Rex earlier today and we mutually agreed that the time to part ways is now. These decisions are never easy. I want to take this opportunity to thank Rex for all his efforts and wish him all the best moving forward. Kim and I and our entire Bills organization share in the same disappointment and frustration as our fans, but we remain committed to our goal of bringing a championship to western New York."
Ryan leaves town with a 15-16 record, 7-8 this season. After an 0-2 start, Ryan fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and the Bills reeled off four straight wins with Lynn in that role.
However, offense really wasn't the problem; it was the Bills defense that continually failed, and that was evident during a killer three-game losing streak that followed. From that point on, the rumors started to swirl about Ryan's viability beyond 2016, even though he still had three years and $16.5 million remaining on his contract.
When the Bills blew a 24-9 lead in Oakland on Dec. 4, Ryan's seat began to boil, and when the Bills' defense was trampled by Le'Veon Bell and the Steelers the following week and Buffalo fell to 6-7 and basically out of the playoff race, there was little doubt that Ryan would be let go at the end of the season.
The timing of the firing, five days before the end of the season, may have been because of Ryan's statement on Monday that he intended to play quarterback Tyrod Taylor against the Jets. Now that the Bills are out of contention, management is believed to be opposed to playing Taylor due to financial concerns.
There's a clause in the ill-advised contract extension the team gave Taylor in the summer that states if Taylor suffers an injury in 2016, and is still injured in March when the Bills have to decide whether to pick up an option that guarantees him $27.5 million in salary and bonus in 2017, Taylor would receive all of that money whether he's on the team or not. And all of it would count against their 2017 salary cap.
Ryan may not have been willing to bench Taylor and go with backup EJ Manuel, which likely forced the Pegulas hand. Also, it gives Lynn -- who is a candidate to get the job permanently -- to get one game under his belt as head coach. And if Lynn isn't the guy, the Bills can get a head start on their coaching search.
Ryan, who isn't shy about telling anyone that he's still a great defensive coach, in recent weeks has defended his scheme and he pointed to his resume built up over more than 20 years in the NFL. However, the Bills' never really bought into the scheme, nor did they truly master it. In the Week 16 loss to Miami, there were still situations where players were running on and off the field late in the play clock because they were confused as to what personnel package they were in.
On the biggest play of the game, the Bills had only 10 men on the field when Jay Ajayi broke a 57-yard run that set up Miami's game-winning field goal. Ryan was also guilty of several poor in-game management decisions, wasting timeouts being at the top of the list.
More than anything, the Ryan tenure will be remembered for the poor defense the Bills played. In 2015, Ryan acknowledged the Bills' success from 2014 under coordinator Jim Schwartz when they ranked fourth in yards allowed and points allowed. He tried to meld elements of Schwartz's 4-3 with his own 3-4, and it failed miserably.
In 2016, he played the true Ryan defense, but it was no better. Buffalo ranks 19th in yards allowed (358.9), 15th in points allowed (23.2), 23rd in third-down defense (41 percent), and 28th in rushing yards (133.5). The 2016 defense has given up 61 rushes of 10 yards or more, third-worst in the NFL, and it has allowed 30 pass plays of 25 yards or more, tied for 20th in the league.
"I'm not going to let our fans down," Ryan said the day he was introduced as the Bills' head coach, two weeks after Doug Marrone had quit. "I'm not going to do that. I know it's been 15 years since the Bills made the playoffs. Well, get ready man, we're going. We're going. Am I guaranteeing a Super Bowl and all that? I'll tell you what I will do; I will guarantee the pursuit of it. Through hard work, through preparation, we're going to see how many teams match our work ethic, and all that."
None of it happened.
