The 2014 NFL season was the worst in Rex Ryan's career as a head coach. The Jets bungled their way to a 4-12 season that ended with New York firing Ryan following six seasons that included a pair of playoff appearances but zero division titles.
Ryan stayed in the division and became the Bills' new coach on March 12. At the AFC coaches' breakfast Tuesday morning at the NFL owners' meetings in Phoenix, Ryan admitted that his final season in New York was difficult.
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"I was slapped down with some humble pie last year," Ryan told reporters, via NFL.com. He then added that he views his new job in the same division "as unfinished business." That said, he knows overtaking the Patriots as AFC East champs will be a tough chore. New England has claimed six straight division crowns and 12 since 2000. The Bills last won the division in 1995.
"They're clearly the team to beat and we're coming after them," Ryan said of the Patriots and claimed the AFC East as the best division in football.
Ryan also discussed the trade for LeSean McCoy, a deal that stunned him when it was proposed, but also came to fruition in about half an hour. McCoy ran for 1,319 yards and five touchdowns last year, a season after leading the NFL with 1,607 rushing yards. He joins a Bills backfield that includes speedster and fellow former Eagles running back Bryce Brown. But Ryan is not impressed with Brown, who has 1,004 career rushing yards over three seasons and a 4.4-yards-per-carry average. He also has five career fumbles.
Rex Ryan talks about RB backfield. "The fast dude. Brown? I'm not going to learn his name until he holds onto the football."
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) March 24, 2015Nobody tell Ryan that McCoy has fumbled 14 times, losing 10 of them, over his six-year career, albeit with many more touches than Brown.