Rex Ryan’s path toward an NFL return has advanced another step.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Ryan interviewed with the Broncos for their defensive coordinator job Saturday, just three days after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that the 60-year-old former Jets and Bills head coach has been viewed as a top candidate for the vacancy on head coach Sean Payton’s staff.
Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer previously reported Feb. 12 that Ryan interviewed with the Broncos the previous week, making Saturday his second interview with the team.
According to ESPN, where Ryan has served as an analyst since 2017, he’d only leave for the “perfect situation.”
It has been six years since Ryan last coached in the NFL. He was fired by Buffalo with one game remaining in the 2016 season, where the Bills had struggled to a 7-8 record after going 8-8 his first year. Prior to that, Ryan spent six seasons as the Jets’ head coach, producing mixed results.
He started out with a bang, reaching back-to-back AFC Championship games during his first two years with the team. But the Jets did not make the playoffs during Ryan’s final four seasons, during which they went 8-8, 6-10, 8-8 and finally 4-12.
Ryan had also served as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator before getting his first opportunity as a head coach with the Jets prior to the 2009 season.
It’s still unclear how the remainder of Denver’s hiring process will unfold, though. Its defensive coordinator position opened when the team allowed Ejiro Evero to pursue other opportunities and ultimately land with the Panthers. That came after a disastrous 2022 season, where first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired before even completing a full year, and the Broncos started a reset by hiring Payton as their head coach.
Ryan then became a top candidate to fill a major role on Payton’s staff alongside former Denver head coach Vance Joseph, who completed an eight-hour interview with the team Friday, according to Denver7 News. The Cardinals released Joseph from his contract, according to 9News, and he interviewed with the team he coached from in 2017 and ’18 a few days later.
But 9News reported that Payton might interview one or two more candidates before making a decision, as he didn’t immediately select between Joseph and Ryan following their recent interviews. They both run an “attack 3-4” scheme, according to 9News, but Joseph is reportedly expected to interview with the Eagles for their vacancy — which opened when Jonathan Gannon was hired as the Cardinals’ head coach last week.