Rex Ryan

Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American football head coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). After serving as an assistant coach for 22 years, Ryan attained his first head coaching job in the NFL with the Jets in 2009. He is the son of former Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals head coach Buddy Ryan and is the fraternal twin brother of Rob Ryan, current defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints.

From a young age, Ryan aspired to follow in his father's footsteps and become a professional football coach. After spending the majority of his youth in Canada, Ryan returned to the United States as a teenager where he attended college at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Upon graduating Ryan spent the next 22 years serving as an assistant coach on different teams at both the college and professional level. At the behest of their head coach Brian Billick, Ryan joined the Baltimore Ravens in 1999 and spent nine years there. In 2005 he became the defensive coordinator, and in 2008 the assistant head coach.

Hours after the Ravens lost to the Steelers in the 2008 playoffs, Ryan accepted a contract offer from the Jets for their vacant head coaching position. During his tenure, Ryan has become well known throughout the league for his outspoken manner, boisterous attitude and success with the Jets, which has included back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Ryan's teams are highly regarded by critics for their defensive capabilities which often feature "relentlessness [and] unpredictable mayhem founded on [Ryan's] premise that 'whatever you do best, we're going to take away from you'", according to New York Times writer Nicholas Dawidoff.

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