Rex Ryan only open to 'real' coaching situation, 'tired of getting f---ed'
Rex Ryan finds himself heading for the television side of the football world on the heels of his recent dismissal in Buffalo.
Seemingly eager about the opportunity, which begins by joining ESPN for coverage of Super Bowl LI, the veteran coach says he'd need a particularly attractive situation to entertain a return to the sidelines.
"The one thing about (being on TV) is that you don't lose," Ryan told Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News on Monday. "You'll remember every damn loss. But the wins? You don't necessarily remember. So, it takes a lot out of you. I'm tired of getting fucked. Unless it's a real situation, there's no sense of getting into it again."
Ryan, who added that a defensive coordinator job doesn't interest him at this point, opened up about a number of things in his first interview since being fired by the Bills in December. That included an admission that, as inspiring as his opening press conference may have been, expectations likely got out of hand.
"I set the expectations too high," Ryan said. "Like, boy, that's a shock. In a way, I felt, why not us? I stepped in where the head coach had quit, the defensive coordinator quit and the quarterback quit on them. So, I thought that it was important at the time to say, 'You know what? Shoot, I believe in you. And I'm proud to be the coach here.' Every bit of that was true. I put that truck (with the Bills logo) around town. I was all-in. Even though those other three had quit, I wasn't a quitter. I was ready. And I wanted to be there. And I wanted to win. And I thought I could win."
He certainly didn't waste any time in moving on when the organization gave him the boot after a 7-8 start to his second season at the helm.
"Let me tell you, I stripped that damn truck the day I got fired," Ryan said with a laugh. "Fuck you guys."
Ryan added that he's not bitter about the way that things turned out after a 15-16 record across two years, suggesting that perhaps his $15 million in pay can be considered a reason for that acceptance.
That said, it doesn't appear as though he'll be cheering on his most recent employer in the year to come.
"I don't wish them bad will," Ryan said. "I don't. But I don't wish them luck, either. I'll be honest: I don't wish them good luck. I don't wish them bad luck. I just don't wish them luck. I wish the Jets luck."
Ryan has long been considered a perfect fit for broadcasting, so it would be no surprise to see him settle into a lengthy and successful career in that field following his Super Bowl audition.
Given his well-established reputation as a strong defensive mind, though, the coaching offers could certainly be there before long. For as careful as he may be about weighing any such offers down the road, Ryan isn't about to rule out a return.
"They'll say I'm a .500 coach. … There's a reason why things happened. I know I put forth an effort to try to build a championship team and to be a champion. And it hasn't worked out," he said. "Hopefully if I get back into it one day, I'll be able to do it. Sometimes you can't accomplish all your goals in life. I like competing against the very best. There's no doubt about it. Unfortunately, I was never good enough to win it all … you know, so far."