"But I grew up a lot different than he did. He was in the Korean War when he was 18 years old as a master sergeant. We'd probably be a lot different, too, if we had to do that. He was used to leading guys in a battle for their lives. So he probably wasn't the most patient guy."
Rex isn't the most patient guy, either. He still bristles about past career injustices, like being passed over for the Baltimore Ravens' defensive-coordinator job in 2002 in favor of Mike Nolan. He would eventually get the job 3 years later when Nolan left to become the San Francisco 49ers' head coach, and admits he learned a lot working under Nolan. But he still felt he should have gotten the job.
"To get passed over was an absolute joke," said Ryan, who at the time was 3 years into his 6-year stint as as the Ravens' defensive-line coach. "Brian [Billick, the Ravens' head coach] knew how I felt about it. He said, 'Well, that's why you're you.'
"At the same time, it ended up being one of the best things to ever happen to me because I got around Mike Nolan, who was a 3-4 guy. I was able to take what I learned from Mike about the 3-4, incorporate it into the '46' and the 4-3 and come up with a hybrid of all of them.
"I was a better coordinator because I served under Mike Nolan and didn't get promoted when I thought I should have been. But I know I could have done a great job. Like I told Mike back then, if Bill Arnsparger [Don Shula's defensive coordinator with the Colts and Dolphins] were sitting there, or if Buddy Ryan was sitting there, I'm still going to think I got hosed. But give me a couple of days and I'll be the best assistant you ever had."
