[CBFF] Catching up with Buddy Ryan

[Jason Cetina]

I firmly believe that Buddy belongs in the HOF, but that he will never get there.



On Thu, 2 Nov 2006 23:00:07 -0600, Steve Behrens wrote
> ((Deep down, you know we all love this guy))
> 
> You want a blast from the football past? Try catching up with controversial
> icon Buddy Ryan
> 
> By Trent Modglin
> Nov. 2, 2006
> 
> While working on a feature story on twin brothers Rex and Rob Ryan, the
> defensive coordinators of the Ravens and Raiders, respectively, I put in a
> call yesterday to the man himself. Rex and Rob's old man, Buddy Ryan.
> 
> Buddy, the legendary defensive mind who has been retired since being fired
> by the Cardinals in 1995, is back at the family farm in Kentucky, where he's
> spent the last 11-plus years, breeding and raising race horses.
> 
> He's 72 and a bit more at ease these days, though hardly void of the
> opinions that made him such a controversial figure in the 1980s and early
> '90s.
> 
> It's no surprise to him how his boys ended up as coaches, given how much
> they soaked up from coaches like Weeb Eubank, Bud Grant and Neil Armstrong,
> for all of whom Buddy worked.
> 
> "When they were ball boys, and the rest of the ball boys were playing
> grab-ass, these guys were watching everything that was going on with the
> game and the preparation," Ryan says of his sons. "They were really into
> it."
> 
> Buddy sees a little bit of himself in each of his sons. Hard not to, really.
> And he knows that they, like a lot of other coaches in the league, still
> employ variations of the schemes he made popular several decades ago, like
> the famed "46" defense he won a championship with in Chicago after the 1985
> season. And, like their father, Buddy believes Rex and Rob get the most out
> of their players.
> 
> The Ravens are currently third in the league in total defense. The Raiders,
> surprisingly in the face of all their offensive woes and general discontent,
> rank ninth overall defensively.
> 
> Ryan was a man who, despite all his innovations and the intense loyalty that
> many of his players had for him, may unfortunately be remembered as much for
> his rivalry with Mike Ditka, his occasional outlandish statements, being
> accused of placing bounties on the heads of opposing players and throwing a
> punch at then-Oilers offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride during a sideline
> altercation on national TV.
> 
> I had those surly images floating around in my head while speaking with him.
> But I also couldn't shake from my head the visions of those attacking
> defenses of the Bears and Eagles. The way Hall of Famer Dan Hampton's face
> lit up when telling me about playing for his former coach. And his sons'
> descriptions of him always being there when they were young, sitting in the
> stands at their games despite his hectic schedule.
> 
> I ask Buddy what kind of legacy he believes he left behind.
> 
> "Oh, probably the '46' defense, the eight-man fronts," he says. [WINDOWS-1252?]"
 You can
> talk to Bill Parcells. We had some great battles. He'd probably have
> something for you."
> 
> I mention that his sons are admittedly a bit discouraged by the fact their
> father was always known for having that stern demeanor, the gruff
> personality that seemed to irritate as many people as his coaching skills
> embraced. They never saw that side of him.
> 
> "I was a tough guy, wasn't I?" he says, laughing. "Oh yeah, I played the
> part, I would say. It was good. Even people now, down here, I'll go to
> charity affairs and different things, and people will come up and talk to
> me, and then I hear them walking away saying, 'Boy, he's a nice guy. I had
> no idea.' "
> 
> Buddy laughs again, that elderly, grandfather laugh that comes from way down
> in the chest.
> 
> Rex suggested to me that, despite all their issues with each other, all the
> stubbornness prevalent on both sides, deep down, Ditka and Buddy probably
> respected the hell out of each other. I decide to take a deep breath and
> tell Buddy this.
> 
> This time, Buddy doesn't laugh.
> 
> "No, I didn't have any respect for him," he quickly answers. "Mr. Halas
> hired me, and I hired my coaches to coach the defense. He had the other
> side. That was the way it worked out."
> 
> Fair enough.
> 
> On Sundays, the 72-year-old settles into a comfy chair in front of the TV to
> enjoy the plethora of games. As it works out, Rex's Ravens are usually first
> at 1 p.m., and Rob's Raiders come on later, at 4:15. During timeouts and
> commercials for each, he flips channels to check in on his former pupils.
> He's got a few who've moved into the coaching ranks, like Ron Rivera in
> Chicago, Steve Fisher in Tennessee and Mike Singletary in San Francisco.
> 
> "I try to keep up with all of it, you know?" he says.
> 
> Plenty of football and thoroughbreds. Not a bad retirement.
> 
> I ask Buddy how many horses he has on his farm.
> 
> "About 17," he tells me. "Too many."
> 
> Turns out, a few years back, he and Rex actually invested in one promising
> horse and entered it in several races. Evidently, they didn't pose for many
> pictures in the winner's circle.
> 
> "She had all the ability, but she just couldn't handle it mentally."
> 
> Sounds like some of your players, I tell him.
> 
> "Yeah," he laughs. "You got that right."
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--
Jason Cetina
jason at cetinas.org