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James David " Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1986 to 1990, and of the Arizona Cardinals from 1994 to 1995. Ryan also served as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears from 1978 to 1985, and of the Houston Oilers in 1993. Coaching multiple Hall of Fame defensive players throughout his career, Ryan is considered by many to be one of the greatest defensive minds in the history of American football.
Ryan began his professional coaching career as the defensive line coach for the New York Jets of the AFL for the team's Super Bowl III victory. He became the defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings, overseeing the Purple People Eaters. He then became the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears, who won Super Bowl XX. As defensive coordinator of the Bears, he is credited with creating the 46 defense, and the 1985 team led the league in nearly all defensive statistical categories. Ryan then coached the Eagles, served as defensive coordinator of the Oilers, and coached the Cardinals. He was the father of NFL coaches Rex Ryan and Rob Ryan.
The Bears defense set several NFL records in 1985, and led the league in turnovers forced and surrendered the fewest yards, points, and first downs.
On October 25, 1987, he came under fire after a game against the Dallas Cowboys by scoring a touchdown in the final seconds, when the outcome was no longer in doubt. This was apparently Ryan's revenge against Dallas head coach Tom Landry, who Ryan felt had run up the score against the Eagles' replacement players during the 1987 players' strike, using many of the Cowboys players that had crossed the picket line. The controversy marred a season in which the Eagles improved to 7–8, which included a 31–27 win over the eventual Super Bowl champion Redskins at Veterans Stadium.
On November 22, 1989, Ryan found himself at the center of another scandal, when Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson alleged Ryan had taken out a "bounty" on two Cowboys players—then-current Dallas (and former Philadelphia) placekicker Luis Zendejas and quarterback Troy Aikman in a game dubbed "Bounty Bowl" played on Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium. Ryan's Eagles compiled an 8–2 record against the Cowboys.
On January 8, 1991, Ryan was fired by the Eagles after going 43–35–1 in five seasons, a total that included an 0–3 record in playoff games. As quoted by Eagles owner Norman Braman, "It is time to stop being a bridesmaid and become a bride." Ryan was replaced by his offensive coordinator in Rich Kotite, whom he had hired from the Jets the previous year. Ryan subsequently became an NFL commentator for CNN. Eagles vs. Redskins always a hot rivalry. Bangor Daily News. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
Ryan had been criticizing Gilbride's "run and shoot", referring to it as the "chuck and duck."Jonathan Rand 300 Pounds of Attitude: The Wildest Stories and Craziest Characters the NFL Has Ever Seen, p. 69, Lyons Press, 2006, Ryan thought that two defensive players were injured on last-minute defensive stands when the offense could have simply run the clock out. At the end of the first half in the game against the Jets, Gilbride called a pass play, and when Cody Carlson fumbled the snap, Ryan started yelling at Gilbride, who then started walking towards Ryan, yelling back. When they were at arm's length, "Ryan ... attempted to punch Gilbride in the jaw" before linebacker Keith McCants and several other Oilers players separated them. "Kevin Gilbride will be selling insurance in two years," Ryan said a few days after the incident.
The Oilers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 28–20 in a divisional round match at the Astrodome two weeks later on January 16. After scoring the Chiefs' first touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Joe Montana, Keith Cash fired the football at an image of Ryan's face on a banner hanging beyond the end zone. Holding no grudge against Ryan, Cash explained, "I saw it as I was crossing the goal line, and it was just impulse. I just let it fly." Northrop, Milt. "Chiefs Able to Cash In, Muddy Buddy in Process," The Buffalo News, Monday, January 17, 1994. Retrieved August 23, 2021
Ryan's twin sons have been coaches in the NFL. Rex Ryan was head coach of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, and Rob Ryan was an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for a number of teams.
Ryan met his second wife, Joanie Ryan, in 1968 when the two lived in the same apartment building in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens, while he was an assistant coach with the New York Jets. The two married in 1970. She died in September 2013 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Ryan died on June 28, 2016, on his ranch in Shelbyville, Kentucky, at the age of 85, after a lengthy illness. He was buried at Lawrenceburg Cemetery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, where he also had a farm.. Ryan had battled cancer and suffered a major stroke in recent years.
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