Rex Ryan

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Rex Ryan was born December 13, 1962 in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Rex Ryan is an American football head coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He is the son of former Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals head coach Buddy Ryan and is the twin brother of Rob Ryan, defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.

Ryan coached at Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) Eastern Kentucky and Division II New Mexico Highlands before joining the Division I ranks as Morehead State's defensive coordinator in 1990. Following his initial NFL coaching experience, Ryan served as the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and Oklahoma.

Ryan was a defensive line/linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals from 1994 to 1995, when his father, Buddy, was head coach.

Ryan joined the Ravens as a defensive line coach in 1999, earning a Super Bowl XXXV ring with the 2000 team. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2005 after the departure of Mike Nolan, who became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. In 2006, Ryan received Assistant Coach of the Year awards from Pro Football Weekly and the Pro Football Writers Association.

In 2008, Ravens head coach Brian Billick and the entire coaching staff were fired following a 5-11 season. Ryan was one of six candidates interviewed for the Ravens' head coaching vacancy, which was filled by John Harbaugh. Harbaugh, who previously coached with Ryan at the University of Cincinnati, retained Ryan as defensive coordinator and promoted him to assistant head coach.

Before his promotion, Ryan also interviewed for head coaching positions with Miami, who hired Tony Sparano, and Atlanta, who hired Mike Smith.

Ryan as head coach, conducting a June 2009 New York Jets mini-camp at their Florham Park, New Jersey training center

After firing Eric Mangini, the New York Jets offered Ryan a four-year deal to become their head coach following Baltimore's loss in the 2008 AFC Championship. Ryan accepted the offer on January 21, 2009 - with a 4 year contract netting him $11.5 million .

Rex Ryan won his first game against the Houston Texans, who had very high hopes for their offense coming into the new season. Ryan and the Jets defense prevented Houston from scoring any touchdowns in that game, and did so again against the New England Patriots. In the offseason, Rex Ryan stated in an interview for the radio, "I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick's rings." and in the week prior to the game sent a voice mail message to season ticket holders urging them to make it "miserable for Brady and company". When the Patriots met the Jets, New York held the Patriots to no offensive touchdowns, and intercepted Tom Brady once in the game. This was enough to beat them 16-9, their first home victory against the Patriots since 2000. Ryan won his next game against the Titans, but lost against the New Orleans Saints in week 4. The defense became the Jets trademark in the first few games of the season, but began to struggle on Monday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins in week 5. The Jets gave up 31 points and lost the game with only a few seconds left on the clock. In week 10, the Jets lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-22 on a last second field goal.

The Jets captured a wild card playoff berth by winning their last two games. The first was a victory in Indianapolis to the previously undefeated Colts. The final game of the season saw the Jets defeat the Bengals 37-0 at Giants Stadium, the last sporting event for the venue, as Ryan's defense held Cincinnati to 72 total rushing yards, and 0 total yards passing. Ryan's club defeated Cincinnati again the following week, this time at Paul Brown Stadium, in the AFC Wild Card playoff round. On January 17, 2010, Ryan led the Jets to upset the San Diego Chargers, 17-14, on their way to the AFC Championship game. The New York Jets subsequently lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game, 30-17.

On January 30, 2010, Rex Ryan flashed an obscene gesture towards heckling Miami Dolphins fans during a Strikeforce mixed martial arts event at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. Ryan has apologized for his actions, stating that it was "stupid and inappropriate." Ryan was fined $50,000 by the Jets for his actions. On July 30, 2010 Ryan signed a two year extension that will keep him in New York through 2014.

On August 5, 2010 Rex Ryan wrote on the ESPN's Tour Bus "Soon To Be Champs", signing a guarantee of a Super Bowl win; similar to the guarantee that Joe Namath tolled before winning Super Bowl III 16-7 against the Baltimore Colts . Ryan stated that he will not apologize for writing the words by also stating that “I just know what’s going to happen. My crystal ball, I’m seeing a Super Bowl trophy in there. Now, I could be wrong, but that’s what I see. But every time I go to work, that’s what I look at.” Ryan has said many times that the Jets are a Super Bowl-caliber team, and has irritated some fans, opposing players and media with his bold, sometimes-outrageous comments. By finally saying "I’m not embarrassed to say that I believe that will happen,” Ryan said. “The great thing is we get to prove it soon. That’s the beauty of it.”