Buddy Ryan James David " Buddy " Ryan ( born February 17 , 1931 ) is a former American football defensive coordinator and head coach . Early years . Ryan was born and reared in a small , agricultural - based community " just outside of Frederick , Oklahoma . " Ryan played college football for Oklahoma A & M University ( now Oklahoma State ) where he earned four letters as a guard between 1952 and 1955 . He served as a sergeant in the U . S . Army during the Korean War . Coaching . High school . Ryan began his coaching career at Gainesville High School in Gainesville , Texas in 1957 as an assistant coach under Dub Wooten . When Wooten became head coach at Marshall Texas High School in 1959 , Ryan was promoted to head coach at Gainesville . After one season at Gainesville , he " spent one year as high - school athletic director in Marshall , Texas . " Gainesville was his only head coach position until he was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles 25 years later . College . After completing service in the military which included playing on the Fourth Army championship team in Japan , Ryan became an assistant football coach , first at several colleges including Pacific , Vanderbilt , and Buffalo , then with several professional football teams , starting with the American Football League ' s New York Jets in the 1960s . New York Jets . With the AFL ' s Jets , his and Walt Michaels ' defensive game plan was instrumental in holding the NFL ' s Baltimore Colts to seven points in Super Bowl III and earning Ryan his first Super Bowl ring . Seeing the emphasis that Weeb Ewbank placed on protecting Joe Namath and his fragile knees , Ryan created multiple blitz packages ( i . e . the " 59 blitz " , the " Taco Bell blitz " , and the " Cheeseburger blitz " ) reasoning that the quarterback is the focal point of any offense , and that a defense must attack the offense ' s strength and centerpiece . Minnesota Vikings . In the mid - 1970s Ryan served as defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings where he was integral in directing the team ' s dominating defense . The defensive unit known as the " Purple People Eaters " , was heralded for the defensive line ' s ability to punish rivals . Their motto was to " meet at the quarterback . " This unit helped the Vikings to post - season appearances from 1973 to 1978 , including three appearances in the Super Bowl . Chicago Bears . In 1978 , George Halas brought in Ryan as defensive coordinator . With the Bears , Ryan created the 46 defense , but it wasn ' t until 1985 that the scheme was perfected . This was due in large part because of Mike Singletary ' s ability to single - handedly dominate the middle of the field . He became a household name of sorts in the mid - 1980s . Then Bears head coach Neill Armstrong was fired in 1982 . The " defensive players lobbied Bears owner George Halas to let Ryan take over . " , or pleaded " for the owner to retain Ryan as defensive coordinator " . Mike Ditka was hired as the head coach . Ryan and Ditka " feuded openly " , though Ditka " delegated the defense to Buddy and left him in charge . " " Ditka challenged Ryan to a fight during halftime " of the Bears ' 1985 matchup versus the Miami Dolphins , with the team at 12 - 0 and trailing 31 - 10 in a nationally televised " Monday Night Football " broadcast . " The guys on the team had to separate them - the offense getting Ditka away from Ryan and defensive guys holding Buddy . " The Bears went on to lose the game 38 - 24 , which was their only loss of the season . However the team would go on to Super Bowl XX where they would dominate the New England Patriots 46 - 10 . The Bears defense carried Ryan off the field on their shoulders " . . . right behind Mike Ditka " , who was also being carried off the field . This was the first time two coaches ever got carried off the field at the Super Bowl . After the Bears won Super Bowl XX that followed the 1985 regular season in which their defense set several NFL records , Ryan was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as their head coach . Philadelphia Eagles . Ryan immediately became a Philadelphia fan - favorite when he boldly pronounced " You ' ve got a winner in town . " , " We plan on winning the Eastern Division , " but also at times a divisive figure , at first releasing running back Earnest Jackson , who had rushed for more than 1 , 000 yards in both of the previous two seasons , and limiting the playing time of veteran quarterback Ron Jaworski . Ultimately Ryan proved that his talent selection was superior to most of the NFL as he groomed play - makers like Randall Cunningham , Reggie White , and Andre Waters and drafted Pro Bowl ers Seth Joyner , Clyde Simmons , Jerome Brown , Eric Allen , Cris Carter , Fred Barnett , and Keith Jackson . His division crown prediction did not come to fruition in his initial Eagles season but quick rebuilding achieved title glory in 1988 , as the team won 10 games and continued to win at least 10 games a season until his departure . Ryan ' s tenure in Philadelphia was not without its fair share of controversies . On October 25 , 1987 he came under fire after a game against the Dallas Cowboys by scoring a touchdown in the final seconds , when the outcome was no longer in doubt . This was apparently Ryan ' s revenge against Dallas head coach Tom Landry , who Ryan felt had run up the score against the Eagles ' replacement players during the 1987 players ' strike , using many of the Cowboys players that had crossed the picket line . On November 22 , 1989 Ryan found himself at the center of yet another scandal , when Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson alleged Ryan had taken out a " bounty " on two Cowboys players — then - current Dallas ( and former Philadelphia ) placekicker Luis Zendejas and quarterback Troy Aikman — in a game dubbed " Bounty Bowl " played on Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium . Ryan was fired by the Eagles in 1991 even though he went 43 - 38 - 1 in five seasons , a total that included an 0 – 3 record in playoff games . Ryan transformed a mediocre team unable to sell - out home games into the premier defensive unit in the NFL . Ryan ' s 1988 division title was the last time the Eagles won a division championship until 2001 as the Giants , Cowboys , and Redskins traded division titles in the ensuing years . Ryan subsequently became a commentator before returning to coaching in 1993 , this time as the defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers . Houston Oilers . Ryan became the defensive coordinator in 1993 , and his defensive team helped propel the Oilers to an 11 - game winning streak at the end of the 1993 NFL season . . On January 2 , 1994 , in the last game of the regular season against the New York Jets , Ryan was involved in a sideline altercation with the Oilers ' offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride during the nationally - telecast game . Ryan had been criticizing Gilbride ' s " run and shoot " , referring to it as the " chuck and duck . " Ryan thought that last - minute defensive stands lost him two players to injuries when the offense could have simply run the clock out . At the end of the first half in the game against the Jets , Gilbride called a pass play , and when Cody Carlson fumbled the snap , Ryan started yelling at Gilbride , who then started walking towards Ryan , yelling back . When they were at arm ' s length , " Ryan . . . punched Gilbride in the jaw " before linebacker Keith McCants and several other Oilers players separated them . A recent NFL Network documentary showed that Buddy missed , but it was a close swing . In the Oilers ' next game , on January 16th , during the divisional round of the 1993 - 94 playoffs , they were upset at home and eliminated by the Kansas City Chiefs . Arizona Cardinals . After being given a large share of the credit for the success in Houston in 1993 , he was named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 1994 . " On arriving in Phoenix , Buddy Ryan announced , ' You ' ve got a winner in town . ' " Also named general manager of the Cardinals , Ryan went 8 - 8 his first year , but had a 4 - 12 nosedive the following season , rife with criticism that he ran his two drafts poorly and mishandled Arizona ' s quarterback situation as a GM . He lasted only two seasons there — where he had a record of 12 - 20 — before being fired again . He would subsequently retire to his farm in Kentucky , where he breeds race horses . Legacy . Ryan was an assistant on three different teams to make the Super Bowl ( New York Jets , Chicago , Minnesota ) . Ryan built his reputation as a defensive specialist and was largely credited with implementing and perfecting the 46 defense . As a head coach , Ryan enjoyed limited success with the Eagles . Although he quickly rebuilt the Eagles roster into a consistent NFC playoff contender , he never won a playoff game with the team . The 1991 Philadelphia Eagles defense , with a majority of players that Ryan selected , was one of the most statistically accomplished defenses in NFL history , pulling off the hat trick of allowing the fewest rushing yards , passing yards , and overall yards for the season . However , in an echo of the disappointments of the Ryan era , the 1991 Rich Kotite - coached team did not make the playoffs . Ryan did not enjoy equal success as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals , missing the playoffs in both his seasons with the franchise . Stephen Majewski dedicated his book " Great Linebackers " ( MetroBooks , 1997 ) to Ryan . , Buddy ' s twin sons are both NFL coaches ; Rex Ryan is the head coach of the New York Jets and Rob Ryan is the defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints . Personal life . Ryan met future wife Joanie Ryan in 1968 when the two lived in the same apartment building in Bayside , New York while Ryan was an assistant coach with the New York Jets . The two married in 1970 . Joanie died in September 2013 after a long battle with Alzheimer ' s disease .