After the Buffalo Bills fired Rex Ryan with one game left to play in the 2016 season, it’s safe to say that nobody was beating down his door with coaching offers.
No, the Broncos, Chargers, 49ers, Jaguars and Rams did not come calling.
Ryan went 15-16 in (almost) two seasons in Buffalo after getting fired by the New York Jets after a 4-12 season in 2014. He had winning records in only the first two of his eight seasons as an NFL head coach.
And he has a long and controversial history of media missteps off the field — from a weird, alleged foot-fetish video involving Ryan and his wife while he was with the Jets to a profanity-heavy tirade after he was fired by the Bills.
So he’s a natural as a television analyst, right?
“Nobody called me about a coaching job,” Ryan said, “but I think I had almost every network call me in some capacity about being a broadcaster.”
After he was fired by Buffalo — and after the profane rant aimed at the Bills — ESPN signed Ryan to a one-game contract as a studio-show analyst for Super Bowl LI. He since has signed on as an analyst on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” And he’ll work the Chargers-Broncos game in the first week of “Monday Night Football.”
Other than foregoing the f-bombs, Ryan said he’ll be the same guy he was when he was coaching.
“When [ESPN senior coordinating producer] Seth [Markman] told me that he wanted me on his team, he said, ‘We just want you to be yourself,’” said Ryan, who promised he’ll continue to speak “the way I’ve always talked to the media. That’s the way I talk to fans and everything else. So it’s going to be no different.”
Well, that could be interesting.
Ryan readily acknowledged that his bombastic style brought him to the attention of television executives. And he made an excellent point when he said that he had a huge media platform when he coached the Jets.
“Was it easy for me or whatever? Yes,” Ryan said. “Sometimes uncomfortable. But I guess just my style leads to this more.”
There’s also some speculation that it didn’t hurt that Ryan endorsed Donald Trump — that perhaps ESPN executives saw hiring him as a way to combat allegations that the network tilts to the left politically.
Ryan said more than once that he’s excited about becoming a TV guy. He acknowledged that he faces a rather steep learning curve in his new role.
“I understand it’s not going to be that smooth initially, but I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
He’s not promising that television is his longterm future. He clearly is holding out hope that somebody will want a coach who hasn’t had a winning season since 2010.
“I’ve been coaching for 30 straight years, so this is very different for me not to have a team,” Ryan said. “It really feels strange. So I’d certainly never close the book on [coaching].”
He recalled a conversation with Jimmy Johnson when the ex-coach/Fox analyst said, “‘Oh, you have to get one of these gigs’ — like it’s the greatest thing going,” Ryan said. “And so we’re going to find out. But coaching is in my blood.
“Will I miss it? I’m sure I will, but I’m hoping that I enjoy this as well.”
Scott D. Pierce covers television for The Salt Lake Tribune. Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce.
FILE - In this June 16, 2015, file photo, Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan speaks to the media during NFL football minicamp in Orchard Park, N.Y. Rex Ryan already has become an iconic figure in western New York, even though he hasn't coached a scrimmage, let alone a game for the Bills. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert, File)
