Yesterday’s win against the Browns is expected to be Ryan’s last with the Bills. Rex is only in the second year of his five-year deal with the team, but is apparently “aware of his fate”, making things pretty awkward between him and the organization. In his nearly eight seasons as head coach with the Jets and the Bills, he went 61-65. He hasn’t topped a .500 record since 2010.
Buffalo is also expected to retain general manager Doug Whaley, who will be given the opportunity to hire his third head coach with the Bills. He hired Doug Marrone in 2013, and then of course Ryan at the beginning of 2015. Considering Whaley’s limited yet iffy resume with Buffalo, it probably isn’t the hottest idea to keep him around. But, hey, you do you, Buffalo.
This 2016 season for the Bills has been a forgettable one. They started off bad at 0-2, proceeded to fire their offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, and promote running backs coach Anthony Lynn to OC. They then beat the practice squad version of the Patriots at Gillette and were 4-2 at Week 6, but, in a very Bills-like fashion, lost their next three games. They currently stand at 7-7, but won versus the still winless Browns yesterday, as they should have. Their playoff/wild card berth hopes are virtually dead at this point, though. I’m kind of surprised that Rexy still has a job and hasn’t been fired yet.
The Bills haven’t made the playoffs since 1999, and luck has not been on their side since then. A couple of years before coming to Buffalo, Ryan was a solid and rather successful head coach, so many thought that he would be a good match for them. His stint in northern New York has been anything but that. His coaching career took a complete nosedive and it’s only getting worse. Hiring his twin brother, Rob, as his defensive coordinator didn’t make things go any smoother with the Bills.
What’s next for Ryan in the NFL? There’s a slim chance that he does land another head coaching gig with a rebuild team, like maybe Jacksonville, and stay on the east coast. The most likely scenario is that he becomes a defensive coordinator with a currently relatively decent football team. He’s a good defensive mind, and can turn his career around if he wants to elsewhere.
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