ExtremeRavens Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Former Jets coach Rex Ryan is making moves toward a possible return to the NFL. Ryan interviewed with the Dallas Cowboys about their defensive coordinator vacancy, CBS Sports reported Wednesday. The 61-year-old Ryan last coached in 2016, when the Buffalo Bills fired him as their head coach before the season finale. He has served as a football analyst for ESPN over the seven years since. But Ryan’s name continues to surface in coaching rumors. He was linked to the Broncos’ defensive coordinator role last October, shortly after Denver surrendered 70 points in a Week 3 loss to Miami. Vance Joseph remains in place as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator. The outspoken Ryan made a name for himself from 2005-08 as the charismatic coordinator of a Baltimore Ravens defense led by Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Ryan became the Jets’ head coach in 2009 and led them to the AFC Championship Game in both of his first two seasons there. He went 46-50 over six seasons with the Jets, who fired him after a 4-12 campaign in 2014. Ryan then spent two years as head coach of the Bills, compiling a 15-16 record. Ryan’s defenses finished top 10 in terms of yards allowed in all but three of his 12 seasons as a head coach or coordinator. The Cowboys are looking to fill the defensive coordinator role that was vacated last week by Dan Quinn, who became head coach of the NFC East rival Washington Commanders. Dallas is also considering Ron Rivera, whom the Commanders fired as their head last month, and Mike Zimmer, who went 72-56-1 in eight seasons as the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach from 2014-21. The upcoming season is a pivotal one for Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, who led Dallas to 12 wins in three consecutive seasons but won only one playoff game in that stretch. The upcoming season is a pivotal one for Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, who led Dallas to 12 wins in three consecutive seasons but won only one playoff game in that stretch. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opted to bring back McCarthy in 2024 despite Dallas’ lackluster performance in a 48-32 loss to the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers in the opening round of the playoffs last month – a game that was largely decided by halftime. Ryan has been critical of McCarthy on ESPN, including when the Cowboys hired the former Packers coach in 2019. “It’s not a sexy hire by any stretch to me because you didn’t win,” Ryan said on “First Take” at the time. “You were like the rest of us when you never had Aaron Rodgers.” ©2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. View the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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