Buddy Ryan
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Buddy Ryan (born James David Ryan on February 17, 1934) is a former American football coach.
Early Years
Buddy Ryan was raised in the tiny cotton community of Frederick, Oklahoma. He on many occasions was noted as having superfast reflexes. This allowed him to excel in the ability to pick cotton faster than anyone in Tillman County. Ryan played college football for Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State) where he earned four letters as a guard between 1952 and 1955.
Coaching
After serving in the United States Army during the Korean War as a Master Sergeant, and playing on the Fourth Army championship team in Japan, Ryan became an assistant football coach, first at several colleges including Pacific, Vanderbilt, and Buffalo, then with several professional football teams, starting with the New York Jets in the 1960s. He and Walt Michael's defensive game plan was instrumental in holding the Baltimore Colts to seven points in Super Bowl III and earning Buddy his first Super Bowl ring. While a defensive coach for the Jets he started the tradition of placing "bounties" on opposing quarterbacks, something that would gain him much notoriety later on. He became a household name of sorts in the early 1980s, while he was the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, working directly under head coach Mike Ditka. After the Bears won the Super Bowl that followed the 1985 regular season in which their defense set several NFL records, Ryan was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as their head coach.
Ryan immediately became a highly controversial and divisive figure in Philadelphia, releasing running back Earnest Jackson, who had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in both of the previous two seasons (including with the Eagles in 1985) during training camp in 1986. On October 25, 1987 he came under fire again after calling a time-out on the last play of a game against the Dallas Cowboys to score another touchdown when the game's outcome was no longer in doubt. This was apparently Ryan's revenge against Dallas head coach Tom Landry, who Ryan felt had run up the score against the Eagles' replacement players during the 1987 players' strike, using many of the Cowboys players that had crossed the picket line; however, many critics dismissed this, pointing out that the Eagles had scored the game's last two touchdowns, in the 41-22 Dallas victory. Starting in 1988, Ryan's Eagles did make the playoffs for three straight years, but would lose their first postseason game each time. On November 22, 1989 Ryan found himself at the center of yet another scandal, when Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson alleged that Ryan had taken out a "bounty" on two Cowboys players — then-current Dallas (and former Philadelphia) placekicker Luis Zendejas and quarterback Troy Aikman — in a game played on Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium.
Ryan was fired by the Eagles on January 7, 1991 after going 43-38-1 in five seasons, and became a commentator before returning to coaching, this time as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. He lasted only two seasons there — where he had a record of 12-20 — before being fired again. He also served as the defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers, where he was involved in a sideline altercation with then-offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.
Despite Ryan's controversial nature, his football and coaching accomplishments are many. He served with the staffs of three separate teams to make the Super Bowl on one or more occasions- the Bears, the Vikings, and the Jets. He made his reputation as a defensive specialist, enjoying success wherever he went and implementing and popularising the famous 46 defense in particular. Indeed, the "46" became so effective and well-regarded that it was eventually imitated by every team in the league and its principles are now a standard part of football. Ryan also almost completely rebuilt the Eagles roster into a perennial NFC powerhouse team. He proved himself an excellent judge of talent, stocking the Eagles with players who would lead it to considerable success years after his departure. The 1991 Philadelphia Eagles defense, made up of his defensive stars, was arguably one of the greatest defenses of all time, leading the league in passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and several other statistical categories.
Ryan often had a gruff personality, but could also show compassion for his players. During training camp in 1990, while coaching the Eagles, Ryan released an up-and-coming young wide receiver named Cris Carter. Ryan subsequently explained to the media that he had cut Carter because Carter "only catches touchdowns" -- an explanation for which Ryan was widely ridiculed for several years, especially after Carter was signed by the Minnesota Vikings with whom he almost immediately developed into one of the NFL's premiere passcatchers. Years later, however, it was revealed that Carter had had a serious drug problem, and that Ryan had released him from the Eagles to send him a wake-up call. Carter credits Ryan's actions with helping him to turn his life around.
Ryan's twin sons also became involved in football coaching and served at the college and professional level. His sons are Baltimore Ravens current defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and Oakland Raiders current defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.
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