Doug Marrone, Rex Ryan
Former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone, left, talks to former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan before a game on Oct. 26, 2014, in East Rutherford, N.J.
(Kathy Willens | The Associated Press)
Orchard Park, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills had to hire the right guy.
After Doug Marrone opted out of his contract as the Bills' head coach on Dec. 31, Bills players felt a bit betrayed. The locker room and the organization were in a delicate place. Nobody knew for sure who was safe and who wasn't. More importantly, would players have trouble trusting a new coach after their old coach walked out on them? Maybe that would have been the case if that new coach wasn't Rex Ryan.
"I've never had a problem with players trusting me," Ryan said Wednesday at One Bills Drive. "The great thing is, when you have the experience I've had through this league — 16 years, 17 years, they all run together — you can't hide. You are who you are, and they'll find out. My best thing is, the players that I've coached before my team now is they're the ones who will reach out and they'll talk to those players. I'm not telling them anything, just go for it. Call any player I've ever coached, and they'll tell you the same thing."
That's exactly what defensive end Jerry Hughes did. He talked to players who have played under Ryan, and everyone mentioned how player-friendly Ryan is as a coach.
"You know when you have a guy like that teaching you the game of football, it's going to be fun," Hughes said.
As for Marrone and his staff, Hughes said, "The way they handled their business, I guess that's how they handle it. We're not really focused on them. We kind of put that behind us and are focused on the new season."
Plenty of teams have to put old coaches behind them every year, but in the NFL, it's not usually because that coach has voluntarily opted out of his contract. Running back Fred Jackson has experienced this transition before. Ryan is the fifth head coach the veteran will play for, and his personality is making this the easiest transition of the bunch.
"I think that's the major difference," Jackson said. "It's Rex Ryan. We all know what he's about. He's a guy who's a very out there person. He doesn't keep anything to himself. He tells you exactly how he feels, and that's the same way with us. He tells us exactly what he feels from us, and he expects us to do the same. Some coaches you can't be like that to. They expect you to get in line and go with what they say. Every one of these coaches wants to hear what we have to say, too. That's how we get better. The give and take."
That personality Jackson talked about was on display when Ryan was featured in the cover story of Sports Illustrated this week. He fired back at Jets tight end Jace Amaro saying Ryan's teams lack accountability, and Jackson said the Bills are already lining up behind their new coach.
"We'll make sure that the tone is set on the football field," Jackson said. "We'll show who's accountable when we show up to play them on Sunday.
"I'll tell you what. It's going to be a fun game when we play those guys. I'm looking forward to it."