The Kansas City Chiefs fired defensive coordinator Bob Sutton on Tuesday, and with Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s past history with Sean McDermott, it is natural for Buffalo Bills fans to wonder if Sutton might be headed to Buffalo. Sutton and McDermott have never worked together that we can find, so that’s not likely.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news of Sutton’s firing and followed it up with a very interesting tweet:
“Here’s a name to watch for the now vacant Chiefs’ DC job, per sources: former Jets and Bills’ HC and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan, who has been approached about other DC openings in recent seasons,” wrote Schefter.
Ryan coached the Bills in 2015 and 2016 before being fired for failing to live up to expectations. He took a great defense Jim Schwartz had assembled and turned it into a sub-par unit. The last time he was a defensive coordinator was in 2008, but he did play a heavy role in the defenses in Buffalo and in his stint as head coach of the New York Jets. In New York, his teams ranked 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, and 6 in yards allowed and had a similar downward trajectory in points allowed during his tenure. 2010 was the last time his defense finished in the top ten in both scoring and points. In Buffalo, they were in the middle of the pack both seasons.
Like most NFL defenses, the Chiefs rely on nickel and dime more than their base defense, but they run a 3-4 similar to Ryan’s. He did draft Reggie Ragland, who currently stands in the middle of Kansas City’s defense.
Ryan is currently under contract with ESPN and has been since leaving Buffalo.
If Ryan signs with the Chiefs, it would save the Bills a portion of Ryan’s $5.5 million salary Buffalo is required to pay him in 2019. Whatever Ryan makes in a new job will be subtracted from the figure Buffalo owes him as an offset.
Of course, it should be noted that Reid’s last defensive coordinator before Sutton was recently released Bills coach Juan Castillo, though he coached the offensive line for the Bills.