ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Buffalo Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan, a SWOSU Athletics Hall of Fame member, has added his brother and fellow SWOSU Hall of Famer Rob Ryan to his coaching staff as the Assistant Head Coach/Defensive assistant. The duo will be reunited on the sidelines for the first time since 1994-95.
Ryan hires brother Rob as assistant head coach/defense (Official Buffalo Bills release) Rex and Rob Ryan were members of the football team at SWOSU from 1981-82 and they earned their bachelor's degrees from the school in 1987 before they began their coaching careers. Rex Ryan was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2009-14 and just finished his first season as the Bills head coach with an 8-8 record. Rob Ryan has been a Defensive Coordinator in the NFL since 2004, including stints with the Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and, most recently, the New Orleans Saints.
"I'm excited to have Rob join our staff and I think he will be a great asset for our defense," Rex Ryan said in a press release on the Bills website. "He has a tremendous working knowledge of our schemes and I look forward to his input. On a personal note, it's been a number of years since we have worked together and so we are both really looking forward to this opportunity."
The duo will be on the same coaching staff for the first time since they served as assistants under their father, Buddy Ryan, from 1994-95 with the Arizona Cardinals. Rex Ryan coached the defensive line and linebackers for the Cardinals while Rob Ryan coached their defensive backs that season.
