Say what you want about Jerry Jones, but even he knows that Rex Ryan has no business coaching in the modern NFL. The Dallas Cowboys passed over Ryan for their defensive coordinator opening in 2024 in favor of Mike Zimmer, but they could be witnessing their NFC East rivals on the verge of making the same mistake.
Now that the New York Giants have hired John Harbaugh to be their new head coach, there have been rumblings that Ryan could be on the verge of making an NFL return. He nearly made one two years ago, and Harbaugh could be interested in pursuing a reunion with his longtime assistant coach.
John Harbaugh was asked about Rex Ryan on WFAN after his presser today, saying “nobody calls a better game.”
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) January 20, 2026
Harbaugh noted he speaks with Ryan regularly and would have to give him a call to see if he’d be open to return to coaching. Harbaugh continued to note than Ryan has… https://t.co/DAXmy2QMBU
During an interview on WFAN following his introductory press conference, the Super Bowl-winning head coach was talking up a close friend, but also admitted he loves the way Rex calls a defense and he wants to give him a call to see if he'd be interested in returning to take the Giants' DC opening.
John Harbaugh considering Rex Ryan as DC gives Cowboys fans another reason to laugh at the Giants
The 63-year-old was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator under Harbaugh in Baltimore in 2008, but left the very next season to take the New York Jets' head coaching job. They also coached together for a season at Cincinnati in the 90s, so they are very clearly good friends.
Ryan has head coaching experience with both the Jets and Bills, but he hasn't coached in the NFL in a decade. This is a coach who hasn't been a coach since the Obama administration ended, so that makes him extra qualified to be coaching against this high-powered Dallas offense twice per season.
He's spent the last 10 years working as an NFL analyst at ESPN, but that shouldn't deter the Giants from at least interviewing him. I think I speak for all Cowboys fans when I say we wholeheartedly support Harbaugh's interest in Rex Ryan as Giants' DC, since this would be a complete trainwreck.
Ryan coached some elite defenses in Baltimore, but he hasn't been a defensive coordinator in nearly two decades. The NFL has evolved considerably across that span, especially defensively, so there's no guarantee that his old-school (or ancient) defensive scheme would even adapt to the modern NFL.
He's wanted to return to coaching for a while, but nobody's wanted him. He had two unceremonious exits in his last two stops, and Jerry only spoke to him in 2024 as a courtesy. Luckily, the Cowboys know better this time around with their DC search, so they're gonna leave the mistakes to the Giants.