Former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, the father of twin brothers Rex and Rob Ryan, passed away on Tuesday at age 82.
Ryan will forever be known as one of the best defensive minds the game of football has ever seen. He spent 35 seasons coaching in the NFL and was a defensive coach with the New York Jets when they won Super Bowl III in 1968. He later worked with Mike Ditka and led one of the most ferocious defenses in NFL history with the 1985 champion Chicago Bears.
Ditka on Buddy Ryan, "We lost a good one. There will never be another guy like Buddy, believe me."
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) June 28, 2016
Ryan was battling cancer and had suffered a serious stroke, which left him confined to a wheelchair.
Rex Ryan hired brother Rob as a defensive assistant with the Buffalo Bills this season. Rob told The MMQB a few months ago that he and his brother are “going for broke” with their father’s health declining.
“Because, who knows?” Rob said at the time. “[Buddy Ryan] is not going to be able to watch us coach for much longer, I don’t think. But hopefully he can see this one, because we have got big plans. Bring [Bill] Belichick on. We got him.”
The Ryan brothers will be coaching with heavy hearts in 2016.
Photo: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
