Defensive about Defense: The Rex Effect Edition
- Brett Triplett
- Apr 21, 2015
- 2 min read
Heading into the 2015 offseason Buffalo Bills fans were hoping to build on what defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had put in place in 2013. Schwartz was the Bills’ fifth defensive coordinator in as many seasons. Under Schwartz, Buffalo finished 4th in total defense and finally had a respectful run defense (11th in yards per game).
Schwartz, being seen as a “failed head coach” (that’s an argument for another time) was not at risk of being poached from the staff as Mike Pettine was the year prior for the Cleveland Browns head coaching position. However, when Bills head coach Doug Marrone decided to opt-out of his contract, everything changed. The team ended up hiring Rex Ryan to be their next head coach, commonly known as a defensive genius.
Ryan and Schwartz have differing defensive philosophies, leading to Schwartz’s predictable departure. Ryan would hire “his guy” Dennis Thurman as Schwartz’s replacement. The common narrative is that Rex Ryan is a “3-4 guy” and Schwartz is a “4-3 guy.” This simply isn’t correct. Almost all defenses in today’s NFL run multiple fronts, especially a Rex Ryan defense, as highlighted in the video below:
Regardless of the lazy narratives, losing Schwartz has some Bills fans worried about yet another coordinator switch (now the sixth change in as many years), but this is REX RYAN we’re talking about. When Rex Ryan took over as the New York Jets head coach in 2009 he provided them with some of the best defensive seasons in team history. Ryan’s Jets defenses would go on to rank in the top 10 in five out of his six years as head coach (2009-1st, 2010-3rd, 2011-5th, 2012-8th, 2014-6th). Over that six-season span the Jets ranked first in the NFL in passing yards allowed (204.3), opponent completion percentage (55.7), opponent first downs (1,667), and yards allowed per defensive play (4.9). The Jets also ranked second in total yards allowed per game (306.9).
It is unfortunate the Bills won’t be able to build on what Jim Schwartz did in 2015, but the Bills defense will be just fine under Rex Ryan, and if you ask Rex himself; they’ll be better.
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