Posted on 06/28/2016 9:44:44 PM PDT by MaxistheBest
Buddy Ryan, a longtime coach who built perhaps the greatest defense in NFL history with the 1985 Bears, has died at the age of 85.
Beloved by his players and hated by opposing offenses (and sometimes hated even by his own offenses), Ryan masterminded Chicago’s 46 defense that won Super Bowl XX. He later served as head coach of an Eagles team that had a great defense in its own right, and ended his coaching career as head coach of the Cardinals in 1994 and 1995.
Ryan’s 35-year career as a football coach began in 1961 as a defensive line coach with the University at Buffalo Bulls, and in 1968 he moved to the Jets, helping them win Super Bowl III. He spent two years with the Vikings in 1976 and 1977 before George Halas hired him to coach the Bears’ defense in 1978.
It was with the Bears that Ryan saw his greatest success. Although Mike Ditka was the head coach, many thought it was Ryan’s coaching of the defense that really made the 1985 Bears one of the best teams in NFL history. After Super Bowl XX, the Bears carried both Ditka and Ryan off the field.
A fiery competitor, Ryan’s best-remembered moment in coaching came at the end of the 1993 season, his only year as defensive coordinator of the Houston Oilers. Upset with the Oilers’ offensive play calling, Ryan punched offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride in a nationally televised sideline skirmish.
Ryan is survived by his twin sons, Bills head coach Rex Ryan and Bills assistant coach Rob Ryan.
bfl
RIP.
Dan Marino and the Dolphins shredded Buddy’s defense. My friend made a crap load of money on that game. Had the Dolphins made the Super Bowl they had a better chance to beat the Bears than the Pats.
>>How often do teams shut out opponents in the playoffs in the NFL even once?
SF shut out the Bears in the ‘84 playoffs; the Rams shut out the Cowboys in the division round of ‘85; the Giants shut out the Redskins in the 1986 NFC-C game. It may not be common now, but it wasn’t exactly uncommon then.
>>roster was stacked with nine Pro Bowlers,
That Cowboys team the Bears beat 44-0 had 4 Pro bowlers that year and other perrenial pro bowlers from that era: Danny White, Ed (TT) Jones, Tony Dorsett (HOF), Tony Hill, John Dutton, Mike Downs, Dennis Thurman, and I think Mike Saxon made it a few times as well.
>>several players who were among the best of their era at their positions, and may end up with a half-dozen players in the Hall of Fame.
Other than Peyton, Dent Hampton and Singletary, who? Hampton and Dent are VERY questionable entries. Peyton, of course, is the real deal and in my opinion, probably only behind Jerry Rice as the greatest player of all time.
The Cowboys had 2 HOFers that same year — White and Dorsett. And they flamed out early.
I'd consider DT Steve McMichael and LB Wilber Marshall among the best in the NFL at their positions back then, along with kicker Kevin Butler. In fact, I always thought Butler was the best kicker in the NFL during his years on the Bears. He would have been a perennial Pro Bowler except he played half his games in the toughest NFL stadium for kickers.
Miami definitely would have put up a better fight in the Super Bowl than New England ... but, then again -- so would most NFL teams back then. LOL.
You do know that team produced a raft of Hall of Famers right?
Richard Dent at his best was completely un-blockable.
They did it once, maybe not on a rematch. That was always the fun of the 46 defense, it’s high risk high reward. It’s an ears back defense that will either kill the play in the back field or give up a huge gain. There’s no middle ground, which is why it doesn’t have a great track record outside that one year. But that one year...
>>You do know that team produced a raft of Hall of Famers right?
Only 4, and only one totally legit. None of the other three would have made the HOF had they played in the ‘70s. If you want to say Payton makes up for it, fine, but let’s not kid ourselves: this team was “loaded” because they defeated other weak teams.
>>Richard Dent at his best was completely un-blockable.
Arguable, but even if true, 1) he wasn’t at his best more than a year or two, and 2) no more so than Ed Too Tall Jones.
Walter Payton
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