New England Patriots
Buffalo fired Sean McDermott on Monday morning, instantly setting off speculation about several potential candidates. Ryan, himself a former Bills HC, put Belichick’s name forward.
Rex Ryan’s take on the Bills suddenly having a head coaching vacancy: Even as the Patriots seem to be turning the page on the Bill Belichick years, the team’s legendary head coach continues to pop up in the news cycle.
The latest example came the day after New England, coached now by former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, advanced to the AFC Championship game for the first time since Belichick and Tom Brady worked in Foxborough. The moment arrived surprisingly, and emerged from the unexpected piece of breaking news that the Bills had fired longtime head coach Sean McDermott.
As ESPN’s morning show, “Get Up!”, broke news of the story via NFL insider Adam Schefter, the conversation eventually ended up with former NFL head coach (and current analyst) Rex Ryan.
“I thought this could’ve happened three years ago,” Ryan said of Buffalo firing McDermott. “Everybody looked at me like I had three heads at a guy I thought they would move to, or try to make a move for, was actually Bill Belichick.”
Ryan, who coached by the Jets and Bills (against Belichick), acknowledged other candidates — including recently fired Giants head coach Brian Daboll (a former Bills offensive coordinator) — but didn’t back off his take.
“If you want to bring in Brian Daboll, bring him back as the offensive coordinator with Belichick as the head coach. I’m telling you, ‘You’re crazy,’ we’ll see how crazy I am,” Ryan said of his thought for a McDermott replacement.
“I think that’s a name to watch. I really do, he reiterated about Belichick. “Why? Bill Belichick, has he proved that he can win with the best player on the planet, the best quarterback? Yeah, 100-percent he has. That’s what it is.”
Getting the Buffalo role would instantly land Belichick back in a familiar dynamic: trying to maximize the career window of a superstar quarterback.
“If you can get the greatest coach in the history of our game — and everybody can say it’s passed him by because he doesn’t have Tom Brady — well he’s got a different guy if you get him this [role], and I am telling you I feel strongly about this,” Ryan continued.
When former Patriots offensive lineman (and fellow analyst) Damien Woody noted that New England is now primed to dominate the division for years to come with Vrabel, Drake Maye, and a young core of talent, Ryan made his thoughts known on Belichick being scared to compete against his old team.
“You think Bill Belichick will be intimidated by Mike Vrabel?” Ryan asked Woody (who replied “hell no”). The ex-Jets coach closed by adding a final quip about his old rival.
“He isn’t even intimidated by the devil.”
Belichick has maintained that he intends to stay at his current role (head coach of the football team at the University of North Carolina) for the foreseeable future. In a recent interview with Jim Gray on the “Let’s Go!” podcast, Belichick gave no inkling of a potential departure.
“Nothing’s changed,” Bill Belichick said. “I’m where I was a month ago. I’m here at North Carolina. … We’re building a good program and I’m excited about the direction we’re headed in.”
UNC went 4-8 in Belichick’s first season as head coach. Meanwhile, he remains 14 wins (playoffs or regular season) behind Don Shula’s all-time NFL record of 347.
Trivia: Who was the last head coach to lead the Bills to a Super Bowl appearance?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He is also the only coach to lead Buffalo to a Super Bowl berth, which he did four times.
Scores and schedules:
The Patriots defeated the Texans 28-16 on Sunday in the divisional-round of the NFL playoffs. New England will face the Broncos in Denver on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the AFC Championship game.
The Boston Fleet also won on Sunday, defeating the Seattle Torrent 2-1 in a shootout.
Tonight, the Celtics are on the road in Detroit to play the Pistons at 8 p.m.
Tomorrow, the Bruins play the Stars in Dallas at 7:30 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
A report on the Texans’ postgame travel struggles: According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Houston was “still in the air” on Monday morning and had not been able to return home due to winter weather.
In other NFL news: The Bears ended up losing to the Rams in overtime in Sunday’s other divisional-round game, but did you see Caleb Williams’ play on fourth down to tie it up with less than 30 seconds to go?
On this day: In 2002, another notable winter-weather game took place in Foxborough. In that case, it was the iconic — or, for Raiders fans, infamous — “Tuck Rule Game.” It was the final game ever played at the old Foxboro Stadium.
Daily highlight: While Patriots fans have probably already watched this a few times, why not one more (at least)?
Trivia answer: Marv Levy
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