Buddy Ryan passed away Tuesday morning after a long battle with cancer and other health problems, including a stroke. While he leaves this mortal plane and two football coaching sons behind (Rex and Rob Ryan), his legacy goes far deeper than that. Ryan was an innovator who probably was appreciated enough in his own time, even though many of the defensive concepts he created are still winning teams championships today.
Sad day continues: Former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan died Tuesday, according to his agent James Solano. He was 82.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 28, 2016
Ryan invented the 46 defense when the Chicago Bears hired him as their defensive coordinator in 1978. The team built its defense around the concept and got a Super Bowl title out of it in 1985. It’s widely thought that those 1985 Bears were the best defense of all time. Three members of that defense, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton and Mike Singletary, are in the Hall of Fame.
The 46 defense came at a time where the NFL was in a transition from the power football of the 60s and 70s to the more pass-oriented style of the 80s. Ryan knew there weren’t a lot of quarterbacks that could fling the ball around like Dan Marino and Joe Montana, so the 46 was all predicated on stopping the run. Unless you had a John Elway or Dan Fouts, you were probably in trouble. In fact it was Marino and the Miami Dolphins that kept the Bears from putting together an undefeated season, beating them 38-24 in Week 13 on Monday Night Football.
Legendary coach, loving father.
The Bills mourn the passing of Buddy Ryan.Team statement: https://t.co/3kTHvjbSgq pic.twitter.com/sJIZJDrxAb
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) June 28, 2016
Most teams didn’t, including the Bears, who won a title with their own run-heavy offense leaning on Walter Payton with an occasional contribution from quarterback Jim McMahon. The Bears beat the New England Patriots 46-10 in what was at the time the most lopsided Super Bowl victory in history. The players didn’t carry head coach Mike Ditka off the field in celebration. Instead it was Ryan who rode off on the shoulders of his players.
Ryan didn’t have to wait long for a head coaching opportunity. He was immediately hired by the Philadelphia Eagles where he coached for five seasons. He built a winner from the ground up, taking the team to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and won the NFC East in 1988 before getting unceremoniously fired in 1991.
Full statements from #Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie and head coach Doug Pederson: https://t.co/pbiGJYnY6X pic.twitter.com/LULTzfLhMp
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) June 28, 2016
It was Ryan’s focus on the defense that would be his undoing in Philadelphia. He built one of the best units in football again with Reggie White, Jerome Brown and Clyde Simmons, but the playoff success never came. Ryan was 0-3 in the postseason as a head coach and that’s what cost him his job. He was 43-53-1 with Philly, but it was take him three years to land another head coaching job.
Ryan rubbed people the wrong way and was unapologetic about it. As defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers in 1993 he tried to punch offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride in the face.
His flameout in Arizona finished with a 12-20 record and another firing. This time Ryan didn’t try to come back to the NFL. Instead he retired to a farm in Kentucky and bred racehorses.
Meanwhile his legacy in the league lived on.
Three current NFL head coaches either worked for Ryan or played under him, learning his techniques – Rex Ryan of the Buffalo Bills, Jeff Fisher of the Los Angeles Rams and Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers.
Condolences to Rex, Rob, and the rest of the Ryan family. You saved my life with tough love. https://t.co/OYSsfrFMhi pic.twitter.com/DyZ6dP58zw
— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) June 28, 2016
You have to throw Rob Ryan in there too as an assistant coach, Baltimore Ravens secondary coach and former Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier played under Ryan as did Singletary, who was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and is currently assisting with the Rams defense in Los Angeles.
The 46 defense is no longer implemented as a scheme, but as part of the different strategies and packages used in the NFL. The game is far too complicated at this point to rely on a single system, but the concepts are still in use. Those concepts helped the Baltimore Ravens win a Super Bowl in 2000 fielding one of the best defenses of all time, put Fisher’s Tennessee Titans in a Super Bowl and Rivera’s Carolina Panthers too.
Ryan’s legacy will outlive him by generations, much like Don Coryell and Bill Walsh. He was 82 years old.
