Bills coach Rex Ryan has hired his twin brother Rob to become a member of his staff.
Rob Ryan will serve as assistant head coach with a specific responsibility for the team’s defense, the Bills announced Sunday night. But what does that mean for Ryan’s defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman?
Rex was noncommittal when asked about Thurman at his end-of-season press conference.
“I don’t want to say anything until we talk to our coaches,” Ryan said. “Some coaches may want to be here, may not want to be here, whatever it is.”
Thurman has been on Rex’s staff since he became Jets coach in 2009 — first as the defensive backs coach, then taking over as defensive coordinator in 2013 when Mike Pettine left to take the Browns’ head job. Thurman followed Ryan to Buffalo, where the Bills defense failed to live up to expectations this season.
Rob spent a week with the Bills at the end of the season, following his firing as Saints defensive coordinator in mid-November.
It seems unlikely Rex would hire Rob and not let him have a significant say on how the defense is run. At the least, Rob Ryan adds another big personality Thurman would have to handle.
It marks the second time the two have worked together after previously serving as assistants on their father Buddy Ryan’s staff in Arizona in 1994 and ’95.