Rex Ryan Offers Candid Reason He Turned Down Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Job

The ESPN analyst has been a loud critic of the Cowboys this season.

Former Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan walks off the field in 2016. / Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Former NFL coach Rex Ryan has been one of the Dallas Cowboys' loudest critics to start the 2024 season, and he could've apparently been working as their defensive coordinator instead.

The team's defense has been a key point of the Cowboys' struggles this season. Ryan even called Dallas' defense "hot garbage" in one of his ESPN rants about the team.

Ryan sounds like he wants to help solve the team's problems, and he admitted that he would be working as the Cowboys' DC if not for one issue: money.

"I could've fixed [the Cowboys' defense] in a New York minute," Rex Ryan said on ESPN's DiPietro and Rothenberg show. "But, that being said, they couldn't pony up the money, or I would've been there."

Ryan then criticized the Cowboys' eventual choice for defensive coordinator, former Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer.

"You brought in a guy that was 29th in the league his last two years at Minnesota, the enthusiasm he brings when he left, that's the guy that's gonna inspire you? This can go really bad for Dallas," Ryan said.

Ryan most recently worked as the Buffalo Bills' head coach in 2015–16. Before that, he was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2009–14. He's been working with ESPN since 2016.

The Cowboys' defense has already given up 89 points through three games, with 44 of those points being scored by the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. The 1–2 Cowboys will need to shape up, or at least expect Ryan to continue dragging them on his ESPN appearances.

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