National Football League

A wild, crazy history of Rex Ryan

Published Jun. 22, 2015 2:31 p.m. ET

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Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan has had an interesting ride over the past year or so. Rex Ryan was fired by the New York Jets after leading the team to a 4-12 record a year after finishing 8-8. Shortly after being fired by one New York team, Ryan found himself courted by the jets' AFC East rivals in the Bills. Now Rex is the head coach in Buffalo and will look to lead the Bills to their first playoff appearance since 1999.

Sunday morning, The Buffalo News' Tim Graham wrote an article detailing Rex's life. There are several interesting stories in the story such as what Rex was enduring during the 2014 season, how he was hired to be the Bills head coach and some of his early years growing up.

However, the most polarizing anecdote from the article is the time he and his brother, New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, got into a fight which led to Rex being put in jail.

While the two were attending Southwestern Oklahoma State, Rob needed Rex to be his wingman but Rex wouldn't oblige with his brother's request. And then things escalated quickly from there.

Rob: “I was a solo rider and had a babe on the line. But she had a friend. I said, ‘You know, come on. Be a team player.’ ”

Rex: “I said, ‘Dude, I’m staying at home today.’ ”

Rob: “So after a few hundred beers I said, ‘You need to help out.’ He didn’t, so I was pissed and got in a wrestling match with him. I think he was a lot more sober than I was.”

Rex: “I was bigger and was just going to throw his ass down. But he reversed me and got on top. So we went at it. We ended up outside, and here he comes.”

Rob: “I ran after him, and he had a right hand waiting for me. I never saw it coming. Still haven’t seen it.”

Rex: “I got him good, and it was over. I felt terrible. I couldn’t believe I hit my brother like that.”

Rex then tried to clear his head and decided to take the car they shared for a drive but the trouble continued for Rex while behind the wheel.

“I get pulled over by a cop. He sees me and doesn’t know what he’s got,” Rex said with a gleaming-white smile. “I said, ‘I just got in a fight with my brother. You can take me back there, and he’ll explain it.’ “They take me to jail and then called my brother. He said, ‘Nah, leave him in there.’ ”

There you have it, Rex got put into jail for fighting with his brother and his brother let him stay there. It was even more interesting as the two appeared at Super Bowl XX in New Orleans shortly thereafter as their dad Buddy Ryan was coaching the Chicago Bears to a victory. That must've been some family meeting.

(h/t Buffalo News)

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Brett Carlsen