Rex Ryan says he will speak with New York Jets about head coaching vacancy

Rex Ryan will reportedly speak with the New York Jets about their head coaching vacancy, according to ESPN New York’s Jake Asman.

Ryan hasn’t coached in the NFL since 2016, his second and final season as the Buffalo Bills head coach. He previously coached the Jets from 2009-14, going 46-50 in six seasons and making two AFC Championship games.

Ryan also interviewed for the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator job back in February, showing there was still interest in him around the league.

Ryan is 61-66 overall as a head coach, going 15-16 with the Bills in two seasons, but hasn’t coached in nearly a decade. Since then, he’s worked as an NFL analyst for ESPN, being featured on Sunday NFL Countdown, Get Up, and more.

Known as an excellent defensive mind, Ryan won Super Bowl XXXV as the defensive line coach with the Baltimore Ravens from 1999-2004 before becoming the team’s defensive coordinator.

Coming from a family of coaches, Ryan is the son of Hall of Famer Buddy Ryan, who was the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator during their famed 1985 season. Buddy Ryan also was a head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, leading the team to multiple playoff appearances.

Rex’s brother Rob Ryan has also coached defense for a long time and is currently with the Las Vegas Raiders as a senior defensive assistant. Rob coached under Rex for one season (2016), when Rex was the head coach of the Bills.

Rex Ryan says he will interview with Jets

With Rex Ryan potentially putting his hat into the ring, the Jets might need to hit a hard reset button for the 2025. After firing Robert Saleh midseason, New York could not turn things around with Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and other stars on the team.

New York fell to 4-12 with a 40-14 loss to the Bills Sunday. As far as 2025 is concerned, regardless of the head coach, Rodgers’ future is up in the air.

“I haven’t decided whether or not I want to play moving forward,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show. “They haven’t decided, or maybe they haven’t told me what their plans are moving forward. I’m guessing they’re going to, you know, want to get a GM in here in the next few weeks, and then obviously, let the GM be a part of making that coaching selection with who they want to go with if they haven’t made a decision. 

“I mean, I think there’s a world where they just say, hey, you know, thank you. We’re going to go in every direction on January 6th, on AJs birthday and his favorite holiday. And then that’s a possibility. I think there’s also a possibility we’re going to wait and see who the new staff is.”