Rex Ryan Claims Buffalo Bills Are His Final Coaching Job

Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan is getting ready to begin a coaching tenure with his fourth different NFL team. But before he has coached a regular-season game, he is already talking about the end of his career. 

The 52-year-old Ryan told USA Today, as reported by Lorenzo Reyes on Tuesday, that the blue and red of the Bills will be the last colors he ever dons in the NFL:

"

This is definitely going to be it. This is my last stop in coaching, and then when my days are up, I’ll turn it over to the younger generation. I’m not going anywhere else. There are always going to be people that judge you, but that’s OK.

"

Hopefully for Ryan, his stay in Buffalo will be a long and fruitful one before he plans to hang up the whistle. He may have the foundation for that to happen, too. 

Ryan has a number of playmakers such as LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins who have the capability of winning games all on their own, but it won't be the offense that will bring the Bills success.

With a solid defense, something that has been a trademark for Ryan since he took over defensive coordinator duties with the Baltimore Ravens in 2005, the Bills are a fast group that can get to the quarterback. 

Their front four of Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams and Jerry Hughes combined for 39.5 sacks last season, forcing opposing quarterbacks to make bad throws toward a secondary that ranked sixth in the league with 19 interceptions.

Ryan's presence has ensured some of his defenders that staying in Buffalo was the right choice, as Williams told Reyes:

"

I would say, if not for who we hired, then, yeah, this whole thing would have been frustrating. But we hired him, and it was a home run in my book. This makes all that worry or doubt go out the window because of his reputation with his players and the guys that have coached with him around the league.

"

While Ryan has been given the keys to this defense, he helped build a Jets defense that took him to two consecutive AFC Championship Games in 2009 and 2010, his first two years as a head coach. But the struggles that followed, which included a 26-38 record over the next four seasons, drove him out of New York.

With one coaching gig under his belt and a smaller market that is not as ferocious as the New York metropolitan area, all signs point to Ryan succeeding during his years in Buffalo.

Of course, this is just looking at the team on paper. 

It will have to compete in the AFC East with the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and an ever-improving Miami Dolphins team that is laden with young talent. But if there is anyone with the big personality and motivating tendencies to lead a team to an unlikely division title, it's Rex Ryan, whose time in Buffalo could be his lasting legacy in the league.  

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.