Report: Sean Payton Interviewed Rex Ryan for Broncos DC Job
Sean Payton's obligations to FOX Sports are almost met, and he'll be able to focus 100% on the Denver Broncos. As he's made the rounds during Super Bowl weekend, Payton has also been busy talking with potential candidates to round out his assistant coaching staff in Denver.
One of those candidates is former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan, according to insider Jay Glazer.
"A little Sunday morning scoopage: new Broncos head coach Sean Payton interviewed a surprise candidate this week to be his defensive coordinator, ESPN’s Rex Ryan," Glazer reported on Sunday morning.
Ryan landing in Denver under Payton would make some sense. Rex's twin brother, Rob Ryan, served as Payton's defensive coordinator in New Orleans from 2013-15.
Rex was one of the NFL's most well-regarded defensive minds before he left the coaching ranks to earn a lucrative paycheck from ESPN, following his dismissal in Buffalo.
As a head coach, Ryan had success early on with the Jets, but couldn't duplicate those results with the Bills. The Broncos have a history of making waves with failed head coaches turned defensive coordinators.
Look no further than Wade Phillips, who once dubbed himself a "lousy" head coach but a competent coordinator. But, obviously, Phillips was a great defensive coordinator, leading the Broncos to victory in Super Bowl 50.
Ryan, the son of the legendary coach Buddy Ryan (brainchild of the '85 Chicago Bears' famed 46 defense), has an extensive coaching history. He got his first defensive coordinator position with the vaunted Baltimore Ravens back in 2005, after serving the previous five years as the team's defensive line coach.
Ryan parlayed that DC experience into his first head-coaching gig with the Jets back in 2009. Although he's been out of the NFL coaching ranks for a spell, he's still very involved in the trends and developments of the league as an ESPN analyst.
Payton is obviously prioritizing coordinator candidates with some experience and name cache. Payton flirted with the possibility of wooing Vic Fangio to Denver, but perhaps the wounds of the so recent past were too deep to overcome.
Landing Ryan as defensive coordinator would be quite the coup. Stay tuned.
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