Rex Ryan - Pro Football Rumors

AFC East Notes: Rex, Taylor, Stills, Williams

December 11th, 2016 at 6:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a resurgence in October and November, the Bills again are dealing with turmoil. A report earlier today placed Rex Ryan‘s job in jeopardy, with CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora saying the second-year Buffalo coach could be fired as soon as Monday if the Steelers easily handled the Bills.

Today’s 27-20 home defeat probably doesn’t quite qualify as such — Le’Veon Bell‘s 238 rushing yards that doubled as the most ever ceded by a Bills team notwithstanding — but Ryan fielded plenty of questions about his job status postgame. Predictably, the embattled coach said he hasn’t had any conversations with ownership about his job status and that he remains unaware of potential tenuous nature of his position, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com notes. Ryan also said the narrow defeat to the Steelers should allow him to remain in his current position, Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

Also addressing the issue of a potential schism between he and GM Doug Whaley, Ryan insists the two are indeed on the same page and committed to winning in western New York, per Rodak. The Bills dropped to 6-7 and are likely set to miss the playoffs for the 17th straight season, which remains the NFL’s longest postseason drought.

Here’s more from Buffalo and other locales in the AFC East.

Tyrod Taylor‘s stock is also plummeting after Whaley did not commit to him as the team’s surefire quarterback next season. Ryan told media “we’ll see” if Taylor will remain the starter in the Bills’ final three games, per Rodak. The organization is also not pressuring Ryan to play rookie Cardale Jones, via Rodak. Taylor sees the organization as still being behind him. By sticking with Taylor — who entered the day commanding the worst pass offense in the league — next season, the Bills would kickstart an $80MM+ contract that still stands as a wait-and-see-type deal as of this season.
The Dolphins managed to move to 8-5 and stand in reasonable position to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2008, although Ryan Tannehill‘s possible ACL tear obviously throws cold water on this, and the team wants to retain multiple members of its core. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes the team would like to extend Kiko Alonso, tight end Dion Sims, and potentially Kenny Stills after the season. Stills is the only member of the Dolphins’ receiving corps who is not under contract after the season. He caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals today to bring his season total to over 600. Proving to be a solid fit for Adam Gase‘s offense, Stills unlikely to match the 931 yards he amassed in 2014 with the Saints but could approach it and command a nice payday. Miami also wants to extend Jarvis Landry, whose contract is up after the ’17 season.
Jackson estimates the Fins will possess more than $50MM in cap space if they cut Mario Williams and Koa Misi, as he expects them to. Cutting Williams would save the team $8.5MM, with a Misi release adding $4.2MM to that figure. These moves would cost less than $3MM in terms of dead money.
Now on the heels of leading the Jets to their fourth victory this season, Todd Bowles’ job is likely safe.

Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan’s Job In Jeopardy

December 11th, 2016 at 11:49am CST by Dallas Robinson

Rex Ryan is exceedingly unlikely to return as the Bills’ head coach in 2017, and if the club suffers an embarrassing loss to the Steelers later today, Ryan could be fired as soon as Monday, a source tells Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. If Ryan is let go, Buffalo would likely promote offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn to interim head coach, according to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News.

The Bills could still finish the 2016 campaign strong, and with four winnable games remaining on the schedule (Buffalo is set to face Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Miami, and New York), the club could win out, finish with a record of 10-6, and compete for an AFC wild card slot. Such a scenario remains unlikely, however — Football Outsiders gives the Bills just a 9.9% chance of making the playoffs — and Ryan’s crumbling status in Buffalo appears to have deeper roots than simply the team’s win-loss record.

Per La Canfora, the relationship between Ryan and general manager Doug Whaley is heavily strained, and Whaley may hold the upper hand given that he’s developed a “strong bond” with team ownership. Whaley and the Buffalo front office have repeatedly indicated that the Bills’ roster is better than its record, laying blame for this season’s results at the feet of Ryan, and have shared that belief with owner Terry Pegula. The Bills have seemingly decided against the idea of hiring a “football czar” to oversee operations — a role that Bill Polian and Tom Coughlin have been considered for in the past — meaning Whaley’s job should be safe.

Other personnel and coaching staff problems abound, such as the poor reaction to Ryan’s decision to hire his brother — longtime NFL defensive coordinator Rob Ryan — as a defensive assistant. Additionally, the Buffalo front office would like to see fourth-round quarterback Cardale Jones take the field at some point this season, as the club is highly unlikely to exercise its option on incumbent signal-caller Tyrod Taylor.

Tom Coughlin Met With Bills During Offseason

October 1st, 2016 at 9:26am CST by Ben Levine

There’s now more clarity on that mysterious meeting between the Bills and former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. According to ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen, the two sides did actually meet… although the meeting took place during the “early part of the offseason.” Furthermore, it’s unlikely that Coughlin was interviewing for a head coaching gig, as Bills head coach Rex Ryan was reportedly at the meeting. Previous reports, which has been denied by the NFL and Coughlin’s agent, were uncertain of the purpose of the gathering.

Mortensen writes that Ryan, Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula, and team president Russ Brandon all met with Coughlin in South Florida “around March or early April.” The hour-long discussion was focused on Coughlin’s willingness to join the organization as an active consultant. A later phone conversation between Ryan and Coughlin convinced the Super Bowl winning coach to pursue other opportunities.

“I can confirm that the meeting you’re talking about did take place, but it was several months ago and there have been no calls from any team about Tom’s availability to coach,” agent Sandy Montag told Mortensen. “He is fully engaged in his job with the NFL.”

The timing of the initial report was notable, as the Bills had recently fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Furthermore, there have been lingering questions regarding the job security of both Ryan and general manager Doug Whaley.

Coughlin stepped down as the Giants head coach in early January following 12 seasons (and a pair of Super Bowl championships) with the team. The 70-year-old has indicated that he wants to coach again, and he took meetings with both the Eagles and 49ers this past offseason. Coughlin ultimately accepted a job working alongside Troy Vincent in the NFL’s football operations department.

Rex Ryan Defends Rob Ryan

September 19th, 2016 at 6:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Last February, after Bills head coach Rex Ryan hired his wild-haired brother, Rob Ryan, to serve as the team’s assistant head coach/defense, Rex called Rob a “great football coach.” That raised eyebrows considering Rob Ryan previously ran a Saints defense that was on a historically poor pace under his leadership last season, causing head coach Sean Payton to dismiss him in November.

[RELATED: Latest On Bills’ Offense]

While the Ryans expect their union to produce excellent results, that hasn’t been the case yet. Under the Ryans and coordinator Dennis Thurman, the Bills’ defense has begun the season in less-than-ideal fashion during the club’s 0-2 start. The unit was especially ineffective in a 37-31 loss to the Jets in Week 2, when journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had his way with the Bills in a 24-of-34, 374-yard performance. Running back Matt Forte added another 100 yards rushing in a game that saw Gang Green’s offense total a combined 493 through the air and on the ground. Despite that, Rex Ryan stuck by his brother Monday.

“I think my brother’s done as good a job as anybody coaching in this league, so I think that’s … but I get it,” he said (via ESPN’s Mike Rodak). “That’s always going to be [those questions] out there but hey, it comes with the territory. And now it’s time to move on, I’m focused on Arizona and I better be.”

In fairness to the Ryans, it hasn’t helped their cause that the Bills have been without stellar defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, who’s serving a four-game suspension, or two injured rookie linebackers – first-rounder Shaq Lawson and second-rounder Reggie Ragland. Still, there’s nothing to suggest either Ryan has done well atop the Bills’ defense since Rex Ryan’s hiring as their head coach last year. Under previous coordinator Jim Schwartz, Buffalo had an elite-caliber ‘D’ in 2014. Then, with largely the same personnel Schwartz worked with, the Rex Ryan-led group was a below-average one last season. And this year, double the Ryans hasn’t meant double the fun for the Bills, whose defense ranks 21st in scoring and 22nd in yardage.

Rex Ryan fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Friday for his side of the ball’s subpar output over the season’s first two weeks, but that type of shakeup isn’t going to come on defense. Now, having lost to the Ravens and Jets over the season’s first two weeks, life isn’t about to get any easier for the Bills. They’re set for a home matchup against the high-powered Cardinals this Sunday, as Rex Ryan mentioned, and will then head to New England to take on the AFC East rival Patriots.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Bills’ Offense

September 19th, 2016 at 4:48pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

After the Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Friday, head coach Rex Ryan insisted that it was his decision. However, there were reports that team ownership actually spurred the move. Bills owner Terry Pegula dismissed that notion in a text message to the Associated Press on Monday, writing, “We do things together like any well run org would. Head coach runs the team and staff.”

Pegula and his wife, Kim, did hold a meeting with members of the Bills’ offense Friday. That meeting did not include Ryan, who reportedly wasn’t pleased with his absence. He downplayed that Monday, though.

“That happens all the time,” Ryan said of meeting between owners and players (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). “I feel fortunate that our owners — I mean, they talk to our players, they talk to everybody. I can tell you this: I’m in full support of our owners. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter, does it? They own the football team. They don’t have to get permission to talk to anybody, myself included. I have no problem with it whatsoever. In fact, I think it’s a real positive thing for us.”

Among the players at the meeting with the Pegulas was the Bills’ top receiver, Sammy Watkins, who hasn’t been much of a factor during the club’s 0-2 start. While battling a foot injury, Watkins has amassed just six catches for 63 yards on 11 targets. The third-year man didn’t reveal much about the meeting to the AP, only saying that it centered on ways for the entire team to improve.

A report Saturday indicated that Bills players are pleased with the dismissal of Roman, whom the team replaced with assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn. One thing that won’t change with Lynn is the language of the offense, according to Ryan.

“I think the spin on the offense is going to be immediate,” he stated. “Some things that we’ll do from a tactical standpoint, I think we’ll see immediately. Change in the verbiage and playbook and all that stuff, we’ll pull from the same playbook. There may be an occasional play here and there, but it’s still gonna be — we’re definitely keeping the verbiage and everything else that’s already in place.”

Under Lynn, the Bills hope to “showcase” quarterback Tyrod Taylor, Ryan said Friday. He also called Taylor a “rare talent.” The Bills signed Taylor to a six-year, $92MM contract extension in August, but they’ll be able to escape it relatively unscathed during the winter if they’re unhappy with his performance.

AFC East Notes: Bills, Roman, Jets, Patriots

September 18th, 2016 at 9:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s the latest from the AFC East:

A recent report indicated that former Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman has hard feelings towards Rex Ryan and felt that being associated with the outspoken coach would be damaging to his career. For what it’s worth, Roman went on the record with Alex Marvez of The Sporting News and denied any issues with Ryan. “I have nothing but respect for coach Ryan and I thought we had a great working relationship,” Roman said. “We met and he informed me of his decision. I thought it was handled very professionally. We then discussed how we could best make this work for everybody moving forward.”
After Brandon Marshall landed awkwardly on Thursday night, Jets coach Todd Bowles told reporters that the wide receiver was “fine.” Apparently, that’s not entirely the case. Marshall suffered an MCL injury and while the team believes that he’ll be ready to go against the Chiefs, it’s not a guarantee, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT. It’s an injury worth keeping an eye on as Marshall is arguably Gang Green’s greatest weapon. Through two games this year, Marshall has nine catches for 133 yards. In 2015, Marshall had 109 receptions for 1,502 yards and 14 touchdowns – arguably his strongest season to date.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has once again established himself as a hot head coaching candidate, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano writes. The Pats have now gone 2-0 without Tom Brady or Rob Gronkowski and they even survived on Sunday afternoon without Jimmy Garoppolo for much of the game. “I was more so worried if (Garoppolo) was going to be OK or not,” running back LeGarrette Blount said. “As far as how we were going to do as an offense, I wasn’t worried about that.” McDaniels went 11-17 as the head coach of the Broncos before he was fired late in the 2010 season.
Speaking of Garoppolo, he’ll likely miss New England’s game against the Texans on Thursday because of a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. That would open the door for third-round rookie Jacoby Brissett to make his first NFL start.

Latest On Bills’ Coaching Staff

September 18th, 2016 at 9:22am CST by Rory Parks

After the Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman earlier this week, it was natural to wonder if head coach Rex Ryan would also receive his walking papers sooner rather than later, especially in the wake of Buffalo’s disappointing start to the 2016 season. However, we learned shortly after Roman’s dismissal that Ryan’s job is safe for the time being, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports confirms that ownership is not presently considering any other staff changes.

La Canfora reports that “it would take a fairly epic collapse to initiate more firings in-season,” although team owners Terry and Kim Pegula are more than willing to make sweeping changes in the offseason if the Bills do not demonstrate marked improvement. One of the problems, though, is that the team’s brass is hardly presenting a united front to its players. For instance, GM Doug Whaley clashed with former head coach Doug Marrone and Roman over the usage of skill players like Sammy Watkins that Whaley brought in, and now Ian Rapoport of NFL.com paints an even more damning picture of the club’s internal divide.

According to Rapoport, the Pegulas held private meetings Friday morning with several offensive standouts–like quarterback Tyrod Taylor–to discuss the offense and potential solutions thereto. Ryan, however, was not present for those meetings, even though he publicly stated the decision to fire Roman was entirely his own. One of Rapoport’s sources indicates that the Pegulas simply used the meetings to confirm that Ryan was considering getting rid of Roman after the Bills’ Week 1 loss and that the Bills remain “Rex’s team.” But other sources believe the move to fire Roman was spurred by the Pegulas’ meeting with players, and that the suggestion was subsequently brought to Ryan.

Either way, Ryan is reportedly unhappy that ownership would hold a meeting with players without him, and even though the Pegulas will apparently give Ryan a chance to right the ship, there is clearly something rotten in upstate New York.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest on Bills’ Firing Of Greg Roman

September 16th, 2016 at 4:51pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Bills’ front office forced Rex Ryan to shake up his coaching staff after the team’s 37-31 loss to the Jets on Thursday dropped it to 0-2, reports the Sporting News’ Alex Marvez. That led Ryan to fire offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Friday and replace him with assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn.

Ryan disputed the notion that the decision to make a change came from his superiors, telling reporters that he informed Bills ownership of his desire to move on from Roman on Friday morning. Bills owners Terry Pegula and Kim Pegula were supportive, Ryan said (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News), and Carucci writes that the Pegulas hadn’t been happy with Roman’s offense going back to last season. They expressed their concerns to Ryan on Friday, and he then took action, according to Carucci, who tweets that Roman was not a Ryan fan and had hoped to leave the Bills at season’s end.

“This was my move, 100 percent,” insisted Ryan (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).

Ryan denied that he scapegoated Roman, per Rodak, but the head coach did distance himself from his ex-assistant’s run-first philosophy (Twitter link).

“I want to be multiple. I want to be able to throw the football,” stated Ryan, who called dual-threat quarterback Tyrod Taylor a “rare talent” and expressed a need to “showcase” his abilities (Twitter link via Carucci).

Thanks in part to Taylor’s legs, the Roman-led Bills had the top-ranked running attack in the NFL last season at 152 yards per game. That number has been more than cut in half in 2016, though, as Buffalo averaged a meager 75.5 rushing yards per contest in losses to the Ravens and Jets.

As a passer, Taylor – whom the Bills signed to a contract extension last month – completed 18 of 30 passes for 297 yards, three touchdowns and an interception Thursday. On paper, those are excellent numbers, but the bulk of Taylor’s success came on scoring tosses to receivers Marquise Goodwin and Greg Salas. He otherwise had difficulty connecting on short and intermediate routes.

Doug Whaley, the general manager who extended Taylor, is now “on notice,” as is the rest of the football operations department, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB (via Twitter). The long-struggling Bills showed some progress in Whaley’s first two seasons at the helm en route to a 17-15 record, but they’re now on track to miss the playoffs for a league-worst 17th consecutive year.

The chief reason for the Bills’ failures dating back to 2015 has been Ryan’s defense, not the Roman-coached offense. For his part, Ryan admitted Friday that the unit “has to improve” (Twitter link via Breer). The Bills’ defense was a below-average group last season after establishing itself as one of the league’s elite under ex-coordinator Jim Schwartz in 2014. Journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick carved up the unit Thursday, hitting on 24 of 34 passes for 374 yards and a touchdown, and the beleaguered Bills will next have to deal with Carson Palmer and the Cardinals’ high-octane offense.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bills HC Rex Ryan To Keep His Job – For Now

September 16th, 2016 at 1:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills shocked the football world today when they canned offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Of course, after the matador defense displayed by Buffalo last night, many are wondering why Rex Ryan is not being held accountable. For now, it doesn’t sound like he is on the chopping block. The Bills are considered to be “his team” and he “has the full support of the ownership,” Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears (on Twitter).

All offseason, speculation was rampant that Rex and brother Rob Ryan would be ushered out of town if the Bills failed to make the playoffs this year. The Ryan brothers are far from secure if they do not reach the postseason, but it doesn’t sound like they’re going to be dismissed mid-season.

In Ryan’s first season at the helm, the Bills went 8-8. After Thursday night’s loss, Ryan’s all-time head coaching record stands at 54-60. The Bills, meanwhile, have the longest playoff drought in the NFL at 16 seasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC Rumors: Hopkins, Chiefs, Ragland

August 6th, 2016 at 9:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

DeAndre Hopkins displayed his apparent dissatisfaction with the Texans known last week by staging a brief holdout, but the team is not discussing a new contract with the talented wideout. Rick Smith said, via James Palmer of NFL.com (Twitter link), no negotiations between Houston and Hopkins are transpiring right now.

The 24-year-old wideout, who is coming off back-to-back 1,200-plus-yard seasons, said on an NFL Network interview (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, on Twitter) he’s not stewing over his contract situation. “It’s not something I sit here and think about. … What goes on off the field works itself out,” Hopkins said during the interview.

Owner Bob McNair said previously that the fourth-year receiver’s contract was going to come up in due time. Hopkins is set to make $1.5MM this season. Houston exercised Hopkins’ fifth-year option, putting him on their 2017 books for $7.915MM. As of now, that figure would rank 20th among wideouts in terms of ’17 earnings.

Regarding Hopkins’ situation, which isn’t unique in today’s NFL, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes the 2011 CBA overcorrected the previous problem of underperforming rookies anchoring payrolls. In allowing teams to wait a minimum of three seasons before giving deserving rookies raises, Florio notes the league not instituting a device that would ensure non-busts received their due earnings penalizes the players who do reward teams by outperforming their contracts.

Here’s more from the AFC on preseason eve.

Clark Hunt told media (including Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star) Eric Fisher‘s contract negotiations spanned barely two weeks in late July leading up to training camp. The Chiefs signed the scrutinized left tackle to a four-year, $48MM extension.
Hunt envisions the Chiefs revisiting Eric Berry‘s contract after the season. The franchise’s chairman echoed the reports that said the Chiefs and the All-Pro safety were too far apart on terms by July 15. “As soon as we have an opportunity next year, we’ll sit down with his representatives and see if we can work out a scenario where he could finish his career here. … We couldn’t close the gap this year, but next year’s a different situation,” Hunt said. “I can’t say that there will be anything fundamentally that happens that would make it possible, but it’s certainly something that we’ll talk about.” Berry will make $10.86MM this year as part of the franchise tag, one the 27-year-old talent has not signed and is not expected to for a while.
As he said in an interview with PFR’s Zach Links, ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher does not foresee Berry being in the Chiefs’ long-term plans. The ESPN.com writer noted that simply a year passing and the sides being back at the negotiating table doesn’t mean either will compromise. Berry stands to be one of the most pursued free agents after this season, should the seventh-year safety reach the open market for the first time. The Chiefs are projected to possess just $6.7MM in cap space in ’17, and Dontari Poe will also be a free agent.
The Bills will work out free agent linebackers on Sunday after Rex Ryan backtracked on his statement saying Reggie Ragland likely avoided ligament damage after suffering a knee injury Friday, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports. Ryan said the team is “definitely concerned” about Ragland’s knee, via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (on Twitter). Buffalo’s second-round pick sustained the injury in a non-contact situation. The team is already expected to be without first-round pick Shaq Lawson for multiple games.
The Steelers are involved in multiple contract negotiations, with David DeCastro joining Antonio Brown as players with whom management is discussing deals.