Former NFL head coach says he ‘would’ve fixed’ the Cowboys’ defense

Former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn left Dallas to take the head coaching job with the Washington Commanders in the offseason. In 2024, the Cowboys rank among the worst defenses in the NFL.

According to one former NFL head coach, it didn’t have to be this way.

‘I could’ve fixed [the Cowboys’ defense] in a New York minute,’ Rex Ryan told ESPN’s DiPietro and Rothenberg. ‘But, that being said, they couldn’t pony up the money, or I would’ve been there.’

Ryan hasn’t coached in the NFL since he was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2015-2016, but a report in the offseason suggested the Cowboys interviewed the now-ESPN analyst for their defensive coordinator job.

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Instead, Dallas hired Mike Zimmer, whose last NFL job was as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-2021. The Cowboys are 1-2 to start the season, and their defense ranks 30th in scoring (29.7 points allowed per game), 28th in total yardage allowed (372.7 yards per game) and dead last in rushing yardage (185.7 rushing yards per game).

Ryan, who has been an ESPN analyst since 2017, went as far as to criticize the Zimmer hire on the ESPN radio show.

‘You brought in a guy that was 29th in the league his last two years at Minnesota, the enthusiasm he brings when he left, that’s the guy that’s gonna inspire you? This can go really bad for Dallas,’ he said.

Ryan’s last defensive coordinator job was with the Baltimore Ravens, where he served in that role from 2005-2008.

He took the New York Jets’ head coach job from there, taking the team to the AFC championship game twice in his first two seasons. The Jets fired him in 2014, and the Bills made him their new head coach in 2015 before firing him the following year amidst a second straight disappointing season.

The Cowboys will play the New York Giants on ‘Thursday Night Football.’ Both teams enter the prime-time matchup with a 1-2 record.

Rex Ryan head coaching record

2009 Jets: 9-7, second in AFC East, AFC championship game appearance
2010 Jets: 11-5, second in AFC East, AFC championship game appearance
2011 Jets: 8-8, second in AFC East, missed playoffs
2012 Jets: 6-10, third in AFC East, missed playoffs
2013 Jets: 8-8, second in AFC East, missed playoffs
2014 Jets: 4-12, fourth in AFC East, missed playoffs
2015 Bills: 8-8, third in AFC East, missed playoffs
2016 Bills: 7-8, fired, missed playoffs