Adam Schefter responds to Rex Ryan regarding Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator job

Adam Schefter and Rex Ryan have quite the story going on right now. First, Ryan reportedly interviewed for the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator job last week.

Then, the ESPN insider reported the Cowboys would opt for Mike Zimmer as the new DC, not Ryan, and that the deal was all but done. But wait, there’s more: Ryan basically pulled a Lee Corso and said “not so fast my friend” on live television ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.

Well, Schefter “amended” his reporting regarding Zimmer, Ryan and the Cowboys DC opening on Monday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show.

“You guys are not the only one surprised by that, right,” Schefter said. “So I hear that and I’m like, ‘What the heck?’ Last year before the Super Bowl show started, I went to Rex and I said, ‘Hey, Rex, I got a feeling that you’re going to come up in connection with the Broncos defensive coordinator job. Just let me know here. Is there anything that I should be saying, not saying, are we okay here? Is there anything that I need to be aware of?’ (He said) ‘no, no, It’s nothing. It’s nothing.’ Okay, you got it, Rex.” 

Then Schefter elaborated on his backstory regarding Ryan’s flirtation with a return to the NFL.

“Well, we get on the Super Bowl show and my good friend Jay Glazer reported Rex Ryan interviewed for the Broncos defensive coordinator job,” Schefter said. “Let’s fast forward to this year … Now, I knew from speaking to various people in Las Vegas this week, the Cowboys, they didn’t like Rex, they loved Rex. They loved Rex. Jerry Jones, when he got done listening to Rex, he was like I was ready to run through a wall with that guy. Okay, so what do you want to say here?” 

Schefter explained the confusion with Ryan considering there was no deal in place and he reported Zimmer was about to get the gig. However, there’s been no official announcement and Schefter reported the two sides are still working through a deal.

“Well, you know, I’m gonna be fully transparent,” Schefter said. “So Rex said what he said, he opened it up. I’ll finish it up right now. I love Rex. Mike Zimmer’s deal is not done yet. So they had reached out to Rex subsequent to that. And they reached out to him about 15 minutes before that segment, just to say hey, any shot of this? 

“So that’s where the confusion came from. They’re not done with Zimmer yet. The deal is not done yet, I should say. So until they get it done, they’re kinda checking into other things to see if things can happen.”

As of this moment, according to Schefter, Ryan could still be in play because nothing with Zimmer is done yet.

“Now, I still have not heard the Zimmer deal being done, which means that Rex could conceivably still be in play,” Schefter said. “Ron Rivera still could conceivably be in play. Anyone else that they’re interested in could conceivably be in play. Now, ultimately, I do think it will get done with Zimmer. But I’d like to amend my report and say it’s not done with Zimmer. Not yet.”