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The Dallas Cowboys are casting a fairly wide net in searching for their next defensive coordinator to replace Dan Quinn. Among the candidates they’re apparently interviewing is former NFL head coach Rex Ryan.
According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, Ryan has interviewed for the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator position. Ryan has been out of football since being fired by the Buffalo Bills during the 2016 season.
However, in the 2000s he emerged as one of the top defensive minds in football. He won a Super Bowl as defensive line coach of the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 and oversaw the Ravens enjoy four top six defenses as the team’s full defensive coordinator between 2005 and 2008.
But his reputation really took off as head coach of the New York Jets.
New: I’m told former #Jets and #Bills head coach Rex Ryan interviewed for the #Cowboys vacant defensive coordinator job, per sources. pic.twitter.com/EOMjnpKvnT
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 7, 2024
In his first two seasons with the Jets, Ryan led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances and back-to-back No. 1 defenses in the NFL.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate that success down the stretch and did not have a winning season in his final four years with the team. After being fired following the 2014 season, he was hired by the Buffalo Bills and went just 15-16 in two seasons.
Ryan has since moved into media, working primarily at ESPN alongside Jets superfan Mike Greenberg.
But maybe a return to the NFL as a defensive coordinator rather than a head coach is just what the doctor ordered.