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Love him or hate him, Rex Ryan has never been shy about publicly sharing his thoughts on NFL players or coaches. Ryan made a name for himself in the league as the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator from 2005-2008. His Ravens defenses were among the NFL's best – as you might expect of a group featuring Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata. Ryan parlayed his tenure with Baltimore into head coaching gigs with the New York Jets and then the Buffalo Bills. However, he last coached in the NFL in 2016.
Nonetheless, the outspoken coach turned media personality interviewed with the Dallas Cowboys for the team's defensive coordinator position. In fact, the Cowboys actively pursued Ryan for the role. However, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on compensation. “I could’ve fixed [the Cowboys’ defense] in a New York minute… But, that being said, they couldn’t pony up the money, or I would’ve been there,” Ryan said, according to USA Today’s Jack McKessy.
Through three weeks of the 2024 season, the Cowboys have one of the worst defenses in football. The team is allowing 372.7 yards per game, which is 28th in the league. The unit ranks 30th in scoring – allowing nearly 30 points per game. The team is last in the league in stopping the run.
After beating the Cleveland Browns in the season opener, the Cowboys went on to lose two straight. They were on the receiving end of a brutal beatdown by the New Orleans Saints in Week Two. The 44-19 loss was so bad it triggered an alert from FEMA calling the event a “major disaster.” While that was obviously a joke, the Cowboys season has not gotten off to the start fans and owner Jerry Jones had envisioned.
Could Rex Ryan have fixed the Dallas Cowboys defensive woes?
The team fared better in Week Three but ultimately lost 28-25 to the Baltimore Ravens to fall to 1-2. Dallas will head to New York to take on their NFC East rivals the Giants on Thursday Night Football in Week Four.
After negotiations with Ryan fell apart, the Cowboys opted to hire Mike Zimmer to head up Dallas’ defense. Zimmer was the Minnesota Vikings head coach from 2014-2021. Prior to helming Minnesota, Zimmer had plenty of experience as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. He held the position with the Cowboys from 2000-2006, the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 and the Cincinnati Bengals from 2008-2013.
Despite an impressive resume, Ryan criticized the Cowboys' decision to hire Zimmer. “You brought in a guy that was 29th in the league his last two years at Minnesota, the enthusiasm he brings when he left, that’s the guy that’s gonna inspire you? This can go really bad for Dallas,” Ryan said, via McKessy.
With the brutal start to the season, cracks are starting to form on the team as All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons got into a sideline spat with teammate DeMarcus Lawrence during the team’s Week Three loss. And former player Damien Woody blasted Parsons for throwing his Cowboys’ teammates under the bus for the rocky start.
