Larry Brown Sports

Earlier this week, Jets coach Rex Ryan said he thinks the Chargers would have won a couple of Super Bowls if they had named him head coach in 2007. Norv Turner wasn’t pleased with the comment and reminded Ryan that he hasn’t won any Super Bowls with the Jets yet.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Rex’s twin brother, was asked about Rex’s remark. He said it was an issue of ring envy.

“Let me tell you something, that whole comment there is about multiplicity. Rex is constantly using that multiple ring thing, multiple ring this, multiple ring that, multiple ring this.

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While most people recognize the greatness of Calvin Johnson, the Lions receiver still has his detractors. In January, it was Al Davis saying Calvin is nothing special. In August, it was Cris Carter declaring that Calvin was not elite. And despite Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett saying last week that the Lions receiver could be the best player in the NFL, Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan refused to praise the man known as Megatron.

In the week leading up to the Cowboys-Lions game that saw Detroit come out on top, the brash Ryan said that although Johnson is excellent, he’s not as good as Cowboys receivers Miles Austin or Dez Bryant.

Few people will deny the talent and ability of Austin and Bryant, but to say Calvin is not at their level is a joke. Megatron proved it on Sunday.

The Lions phenom caught two touchdown passes from Matthew Stafford, including one where he was surrounded by three defenders, and another where he skied a few feet off the ground in isolation. His touchdown catches were part of Detroit’s 24-point comeback win, and they served as a nice statement in the face of Ryan who dared to say he was below Dallas’ receivers.

Following the win, Lions coach Jim Schwartz took a subtle jab at Ryan. “I’m glad the third best wide reciever on the Cowboys is on our team,” he said.

Very well put, sir. That’s all that needed to be said. Calvin now has set an NFL record with two touchdowns in four straight games giving him eight on the year. He is by most accounts the best wide receiver in football.

Are those Ryan brothers a couple of weird dudes or what?  The one guy likes feet and the other guy thinks it’s great that the first guy loves feet.  Rob Ryan said it’s no big deal that Rex loves his wife’s feet because Rob “loves everything” about his own wife.  I’m sure Rob loves his wife plenty, but apparently she doesn’t turn him on enough to be featured on his play sheet on Sundays.  Check out this picture Bag of Nothing grabbed of Rob Ryan on the sidelines during the Cowboys-Niners game:

SI Hot Clicks was able to track down the model, who is featured in the picture we enlarged above.  Her name is Diora Baird, and as you can see she’s fantastic.  That being said, this is an interesting superstition and/or crush Rob has.  He obviously isn’t doing it for attention since it is so difficult to pick up on.  I’m not mad at him though — that would probably keep my spirits up on game day.

Aside from the occasional jab here and there, everyone has pretty much forgotten about Rex Ryan’s foot fetish.  When a piece of news that is harmless and personal surfaces, that tends to happen.  Rex himself poked fun at his love for feet a few months ago which makes it even less satisfying to tool on him for it.  However, one last person that needed to weigh in on the fetish was Rex’s twin brother, Rob Ryan.

The Ryan brothers obviously have a close relationship with one another, so it should come as no surprise that Rob fluffed off the feet talk when asked about it in the Cowboys locker room on Monday.

“Aw hell who cares,” Rob Ryan said as passed along by the Star-Telegram. “Believe me, everybody has whatever screwed up thing going on. I don’t care. I’m sure you do, and everybody else that points fingers. Who cares? Everybody has a life off the field. Who gives a crap? I’m sure I’m worse than he is. So big deal.

“I mean hell, he is a little freaky I guess,” Rob Ryan said. “Hell, I don’t know. I like everything about my wife. She got great feet, too. She got everything nice. What the hell.”

It pains me to say it, but touche Rob Ryan. Touche. We may not all have foot fetishes, but we probably have something weird going on in our personal lives with our significant others.  The problem is putting in on YouTube, but it’s a free country.  They say you should flaunt it if you have it, and apparently Michelle Ryan feels she should flaunt her feet.

The Eagles have grabbed everyone’s attention by signing several notable players in free agency. Vince Young termed his new squad a “Dream Team.” Newcomer Jason Babin agreed, saying Philly was like the the Miami Heat of the NFL. We advised Philly that it wasn’t wise to make themselves a target, but it’s too late. Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has already taken aim at them.

“[The Cowboys have] proven players, and that’s what we need,” Ryan said Monday according to the Star-Telegram. “I don’t know if we win the all-hype team, I think that might have gone to somebody else, but we’re going to beat their ass when we play them.”

That’s exactly what Philly gets. They wasted no time putting a target on their back and now they’ll have the entire NFL gunning for them. That’s not how you win a Super Bowl. The Miami Heat came close in the NBA but they lost. I imagine the Eagles will have the same fate, even if it isn’t the Cowboys that beat them.

Just like that, Rob Ryan has managed to become similar to his twin brother Rex.

The Dallas Cowboys reportedly are in contract negotiations with Rob Ryan to make him their new defensive coordinator. The Cowboys lost Paul Pasqualoni, who was their coordinator after Wade Phillips was canned, to UConn, and need to fill their vacancy. Ryan meanwhile has been in flux since Pat Shurmur took over for Eric Mangini as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Because of the uncertainty regarding his job status in Cleveland, it’s a wise move for Rob to take a sure job. Thing is, I’m wondering when he’s going to ascend and become a head coach.

It was almost a year ago when Ryan called himself a “great coach” and proclaimed, “I will be a head coach in this league, and I will be damn successful, too.” The man certainly can talk a good game, but no teams have bought it yet. Ryan did interview for the Raiders head coaching position years ago, and he interviewed for the Carolina Panthers head coaching job earlier in January. Unfortunately he was not called back for a second interview and the Carolina job went to Ron Rivera.

Ryan was thought to be a hot head coaching candidate mid-season after his defense helped the Browns knock off the Saints and Patriots in back-to-back weeks. Though Cleveland finished an unremarkable 5-11, Ryan’s defense did play well the entire season except the 40 points they let up to the Steelers in week 17. Going to the Cowboys is a wise move for Rob; though he won’t be replacing Jason Garrett, he should get more interviews if the team has a good year. He already has a high-profile name, and now he’ll be with a high-profile team. It’s a perfect combination to finally ascend.

The Jets and Browns will meet in Cleveland on Sunday, and beyond being a game that will impact the standings like any other, it also features a meeting between the Ryan brothers: Rex is the head coach of the Jets and his twin, Rob, is the defensive coordinator of the Browns.

The Browns have pulled off back-to-back upsets, beating up on the Saints and Patriots. The Jets struggled to overcome the Lions last weekend and are hoping to stay unbeaten on the road. In order to do so, they’ll have to score points on Rob’s vastly improving defense. Rex joked at his press conference Wednesday that he had placed a bounty on his brother’s head. Oh yeah, he also showed up to the news conference dressed up like his bro:

It’s nice to see that the rigors of the NFL won’t get in the way of family bonds, at least for one of the brothers. The good thing for Rob is that Rex’s success in New York has helped raise the “Ryan” profile and make Rob a desirable head coaching candidate. Rob had already been mentioned as a candidate in past years, but as long as his Browns keep playing well, he’ll be a lock for a job this off-season.

Photo Credit: Matt Higgins