If it were up to former NFL head coach Rex Ryan, he and the Dallas Cowboys would be sitting pretty thanks to a formidable defense.
Despite his reputation as a defensive-minded genius, Rex Ryan hasn’t been employed as an NFL coach since 2016. He was fired by the Buffalo Bills in 2016 before wrapping up his second season as their head coach and has since worked as an NFL analyst for ESPN.
The Cowboys are off to a disappointing 1-2 start, thanks to a horrid showing by a defense that is allowing an average of 29.7 points per game heading into their “Thursday Night Football” clash with the New York Giants.
Dallas had a top-10 defense in each of Dan Quinn’s three seasons as their defensive coordinator. Jerry Jones hired former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer to run the defense after Quinn left for the Washington Commanders’ head coaching position.
During an appearance on ESPN’s “DiPietro & Rothenberg Show”, Rex Ryan revealed that he wanted to come to Dallas and replace Quinn as their defensive coordinator. According to the former Bills and New York Jets head coach, however, the deal was never materialized because the price wasn’t right.
“I could’ve fixed (the Cowboys defense) in a New York minute,. But, that being said, they couldn’t pony up the money, or I would’ve been there.
“You brought in a guy that was 29th in the league his last two years at Minnesota, the enthusiasm he brings when he left, that’s the guy that’s gonna inspire you? This can go really bad for Dallas.”
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Rex Ryan’s twin brother, Rob Ryan, was the Cowboys defensive coordinator from 2011 to 2012 under then-head coach Jason Garrett. The twins were on the Baltimore Ravens’ coaching staff when the team won Super Bowl 35 in the 2000 season.
Rex Ryan Would Be Better Than Mike Zimmer
Ryan has always talked a big game and isn’t exactly on the level of Bill Belichick defensive-minded genius. That said, he ran plenty of stong defensive systems during his tenures with the Ravens and Jets.
Zimmer’s defense got worse and worse during his final years as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. This isn’t to say that Ryan would make the Cowboys defense as good a Quinn’s, but it certainly couldn’t fare worse than Zimmer’s.
