Buddy Ryan
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Buddy Ryan (born James David Ryan on February 17, 1934) is a former American football coach.
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[edit] 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.[citation needed] Ryan played college football for Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State) where he earned four letters as a guard between 1952 and 1955.
[edit] Coaching
[edit] College
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.
[edit] New York Jets
With the Jets, he and Walt Michaels' 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.
[edit] Minnesota Vikings
In the mid-1970s Ryan was defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings where he was integral in directing the team's dominating defense. The defensive unit known as the "Purple People Eaters", was heralded for the defensive line's ability to punish rivals. Their motto was to "meet at the quarterback." This unit helped the Vikings to post-season appearances from 1973-78.
[edit] Chicago Bears
In 1978, Neill Armstrong was hired as head coach of the Chicago Bears. Armstong made the playoffs once in his four seasons with the Bears, but perhaps more importantly brought in Buddy Ryan as defensive coordinator. Ryan would revolutionize defensive football with his "46" package. He perhaps revolutionized offensive football as well, as offensive thinkers now had to come up with a quick passing game to neutralize the Ryan-inspired pass rush. He became a household name of sorts in the early 1980s. Armstrong was fired in 1982 and replaced by Mike Ditka, but Ryan was retained, in part, after the players presented a petition to owner George Halas. Ryan and Ditka were at constant odds, though Ditka gave Ryan complete control over the defense. Allegedly the two almost came to blows during halftime of the game in 1985 versus the Miami Dolphins where their bid for a perfect season was unraveling, with Ditka telling Ryan "We can do it any way you want to. We can go right out back and get it on or you can shape your ass up." 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, which he had informed the defense of the night before Super Bowl XX. After trouncing the New England Patriots 46-10, the emotional Bears defense gave Ryan a shoulder-ride that ran alongside Mike Ditka's shoulder ride twenty feet away.
[edit] Philadelphia Eagles
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 dubbed "Bounty Bowl" 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 in 1993, this time as the defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers.
[edit] Houston Oilers
The Ryan-led defense helped propel the Oilers to an 11-game winning streak to end the 1993 regular season, only to be upset by Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Astrodome during the Divisional Round of the playoffs. He was most notably involved in a sideline altercation with then-offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride during a national broadcast.
[edit] Arizona Cardinals
After being given a large share of the credit for his success in Houston, he was named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. Also named general manager of the Cardinals, Ryan went 8-8 his first year, but had a 4-12 nosedive the following season, rife with criticism that he ran his two drafts poorly and mishandled Arizona's quarterback situation as a GM. He lasted only two seasons there — where he had a record of 12-20 — before being fired again. He would subsequently retire to his farm in Kentucky, where he breeds race horses.
[edit] Legacy
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 popularizing 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 fewest passing yards allowed, fewest 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.
[edit] Personal
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.
| Preceded by Joe Bugel |
Arizona Cardinals Head Coaches 1994–1995 |
Succeeded by Vince Tobin |
| Preceded by Marion Campbell |
Philadelphia Eagles Head Coaches 1986–1990 |
Succeeded by Rich Kotite |
| Philadelphia Eagles Head Coaches |
|---|
| Wray • Bell • Neale • McMillin • Millner • Trimble • Devore • Shaw • Skorich • Kuharich • Williams • Khayat • McCormack • Vermeil • Campbell • Ryan • Kotite • Rhodes • Reid |
| Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals Head Coaches |
|---|
| Driscoll • Horween • Barry • Chamberlin • Gillies • Scanlon • Nevers • Andrews • Chevigny • Schissler • Creighton • Nevers • Conzelman • Handler • Conzelman • Lambeau • Handler • Kuharich • Stydahar • Richards • Ivy • Lemm • Winner • Hollway • Coryell • Wilkinson • Wilson • Hanifan • Stallings • Kuhlmann • Bugel • Ryan • Tobin • McGinnis • Green |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | 1934 births | Living people | Buffalo Bulls football coaches | Pacific Tigers football coaches | Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches | Minnesota Vikings coaches | New York Jets coaches | Chicago Bears coaches | Philadelphia Eagles coaches | Houston Oilers coaches | Arizona Cardinals coaches
