New England Patriots
Buffalo fired Sean McDermott on Monday morning, instantly setting off speculation about several potential candidates. Ryan, himself a former Bills HC, put Belichick’s name forward.
Rex Ryan’s take on the Bills suddenly having a head coaching vacancy: Even as the Patriots seem to be turning the page on the Bill Belichick years, the team’s legendary head coach continues to pop up in the news cycle.
The latest example came the day after New England, coached now by former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, advanced to the AFC Championship game for the first time since Belichick and Tom Brady worked in Foxborough. The moment arrived surprisingly, and emerged from the unexpected piece of breaking news that the Bills had fired longtime head coach Sean McDermott.
As ESPN’s morning show, “Get Up!”, broke news of the story via NFL insider Adam Schefter, the conversation eventually ended up with former NFL head coach (and current analyst) Rex Ryan.
“I thought this could’ve happened three years ago,” Ryan said of Buffalo firing McDermott. “Everybody looked at me like I had three heads at a guy I thought they would move to, or try to make a move for, was actually Bill Belichick.”
Ryan, who coached by the Jets and Bills (against Belichick), acknowledged other candidates — including recently fired Giants head coach Brian Daboll (a former Bills offensive coordinator) — but didn’t back off his take.
“If you want to bring in Brian Daboll, bring him back…