After the 2015 regular season concluded, Buffalo Rumblings posted an approval rating poll for head coach Rex Ryan. Following an 8-8 season, another year without the playoffs, and a surprising decline of the Buffalo Bills defense, it was safe to say that the results would not be pretty.
Now that the 2016 NFL Draft is complete, it is time to poll fans again to see how much their opinion has changed, if at all, on the job being done by Ryan. Since our January 12 poll, these are just a few of the changes have taken place at One Bills Drive under the head coach:
- Hired his brother, Rob, as a senior assistant on the defensive coaching staff
- Ed Reed was hired as assistant defensive backs coach
- Declared that the Bills' defense will be "fully pregnant" in 2016
- Announced that Preston Brown will continue to call signals on defense
- Brown also shared that Ryan had simplified the defense for his players
- Replaced Karl Dunbar with John Blake as defensive line coach
Also, while this year's draft class is technically credited to GM Doug Whaley, it's easy to see that the defensive players selected in the first three rounds were identified specifically for the Ryan defense. Shaq Lawson and Reggie Ragland have been pegged as starters already, and third-round pick Adolphus Washington is expected to play a lot, as well.
After each of these moves, and what many have deemed a successful draft for the Bills, it will be interesting to see how the approval rate for Ryan may have changed since January. As always, please share your comments below, and don't forget to vote in the approval poll.