Rex Ryan Recalled The One New York Jets Practice Moment That Made Him Fear For His Coaching Career

Rex Ryan thought one bad practice drill would end his New York Jets career before day two.© Image via: X/@NFL_DovKleiman

Most new head coaches remember their first practice for the speeches and the handshakes. Rex Ryan remembers the sound of two players colliding at full speed. In 2009, on his opening day as head coach of the New York Jets, a drill he had doubts about left two of his players with concussions. Ryan says he stood on that field convinced his job was already gone. He shared the story on Bussin' With The Boys, and the details are as painful as they are funny.

Rex Ryan Says One Practice Drill Nearly Ended His New York Jets Career

Rex Ryan took the job with a famous last name and a head-coaching offer from the St. Louis Rams already turned down. His father, Buddy Ryan, had coached on the New York Jets staff that won Super Bowl III, and that history pulled him toward New York. On his first day, he noticed the team had only one usable field. Receivers and linebackers were set to run one-on-one drills toward each other from opposite ends, and he asked offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer whether that was wise. Schottenheimer told him the Jets had practiced that way all of the previous season, so Ryan let the drill go ahead.

“One dude's running the go route, the other guy runs the wheel route. Bam! They run right into each other. Knock them both the hell out. They both get concussions,” he said.

His mind went straight to the worst case. “I'm not going to make day two. They're going to let me go. I'm going to get sued. They're going to fire me,” Ryan recalled thinking.

He has no sympathy for the coach he was that day. “I won't make day two. Like, being a dumbass, how do you run those two drills?” Ryan added.

Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan was arrested in Nashville after allegedly running over two pedestrians' feet with his pickup truck and leaving the scene.  Ryan is facing SIX misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident.  Getty https://t.co/LSSP8HnHBP

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 11, 2026

Nobody fired him. Two seasons later, the Jets had reached back-to-back AFC Championship Games.

Rex Ryan Booked In Davidson County After Alleged Nashville Hit-And-Run

Metro Nashville Police say two pedestrians with a walk sign were crossing a street when a truck turned and ran over both of their feet and one of their legs. The pedestrians told police the truck kept going but stopped at a red light at Broadway and Representative John Lewis Way, where they waved down the driver. They said he got out to argue, climbed back in and drove away. They photographed the license plate, which police say is registered to Ryan, along with the driver police allege was him.

Ryan surrendered on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and was booked into the Davidson County Jail. He faces two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of failure to give information or render aid, and two counts of failure to obey a traffic control signal. His bond was set at $6,000.

ESPN, where Ryan has been an analyst since 2016 and appears on Sunday NFL Countdown, gave a short response. “We are aware and are in touch with Rex,” the network said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports.