The legacy of Buddy Ryan
When Buddy Ryan passed away last Tuesday, there was no question the NFL lost one of its coaching icons. However, the impact that Ryan had at the NFL coaching world goes beyond his invention of the terrifying and brilliant “46” defense.
In today’s NFL, there are still some Buddy Ryan influences on some sidelines. Here are some teams and schemes where Buddy Ryan has an influence on in today’s National Football League:
Coaches
Obviously, when you talk about Buddy Ryan’s legacy, you can start in Buffalo, New York, where his two sons coach the Buffalo Bills. His twins, Rex and Rob, head coach and assistant head coach, respectively, carry on the Ryan name in the NFL. While the twins aren’t inventing any impervious defenses, they still carry the same hot temper their father brandished when he walked the sidelines and a knack for having respectable defenses.
Following his sons are the players that Buddy coached in his time. As defensive coordinator of the 85 Bears, Ryan became a hero to those he taught and coached. Among those Bears who evolved from player to coach were linebackers Mike Singletary and Ron Rivera, and defensive backs Jeff Fisher and Leslie Frazier. All have become NFL head coaches at one point in their career, with Rivera and Fisher making it to the Super Bowl at the helm of their respective teams.
All have said Ryan’s coaching style has taught them lessons in the ways to coach, as well as lessons in life. “Buddy gave me my coaching start in this league and for that I am forever grateful,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement following Ryan’s death. “His knowledge, passion for football and the love he had for his players and coaches are traits that have shaped and influenced so many careers, including my own.”
Next: Bears Banter: The BGO Podcast: Ep.4- Mike Singletary Discusses Buddy Ryan
Schemes
While Ryan’s disciples have gone on to teach his schemes personally, there have been other coaches in the NFL who have taken Ryan’s child, the “46” defense, and molded to their own specifications. One of the reasons the 46 was so monumental, was that it invented a new way to pressure the quarterback. That way was pretty simple: attack the passing game with overwhelming numbers. Many times, the Bears were loaded with an eight man front to rush the quarterback, and many times, the quarterback stood little to no chance.
However, while its success game in large quantities, its one, major weakness was the spread offense. One current NFL coach took Ryan’s scheme and molded it to fit today’s multidimensional playing style and to fight that kryptonite. New England head coach Bill Belichick invented this adaptation when he was with the New York Giants in the early 1990s. Ryan’s approach was a simple hand gesture, signaling automated front coverage (AFC), or the pre planned defensive plays, when the opposing offense lines up in a specific formation. “Whatever down they were on, he gave us a playlist that if they get in this formation, this is the defense you’re going to run,” former Bears safety Doug Plank told The Buffalo News in 2015. “We’d start calling out the plays when they were running through motions and shifts. That used to freak the offense out because they’d say, ‘How do these guys know?!’” The AFC was ingenious back in the 80’s; now, it’s part of most team’s weekly game plan.
According to a 2015