Cowboys Refused to ‘Pony Up’ Money to Hire Controversial Ex-Defensive Coach

Even when he was an active coach—and it has been eight years since that was the case—Rex Ryan was known to court controversy and issue outlandish statements. Now that he is a professional talker for ESPN, his statements have gotten exponentially more outrageous. This week, Ryan even dragged the Cowboys into the mix.

Ryan claimed, in a radio interview with the “DiPietro and Rothenberg” podcast, that he could have easily fixed the Cowboys defense if the team had made him the defensive coordinator instead of Mike Zimmer, the former Vikings coach who was brought in to replace Dan Quinn.

Ryan, who established his reputation as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator from 2005-08, further claimed that he talked to Dallas about the job in the offseason but that the Cowboys would not pay him what he wanted. So they hired Zimmer.

“No, 100%, I would have fixed it in a New York minute,” Ryan told the podcast. “But, that being said, they couldn’t pony up the money or I would have been there. And so, they never ponied up. And that was why I stayed here (at ESPN).”

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Rex Ryan: Mike Zimmer Not ‘Going to Inspire You’

That’s certainly an attention-grabbing assertion. The Cowboys are the most valuable franchise, not only in the NFL but in all of major American sports, worth $10.32 billion, according to Sportico valuations. The notion that they had an assistant coach they wanted to hire but somehow could not afford to do so is mind-boggling.

Ryan, of course, did not stop there. He also took some pot shots at Zimmer, who was roundly criticized by players—they knocked him as too much of an old-school coach who was too hard on players—when he left the Vikings in 2021. Zimmer did not address the team when he was let go.

Furthermore, as a defense, the Vikings were 24^th in points allowed and 30^th in yards allowed in Zimmer’s final season. The year before that, they were 29^th in points and 27^th in yards allowed.

“No, but it’s true. You brought in a guy who was like 29^th in the league the last two years at Minnesota,” Ryan said. “And, you know, the enthusiasm he brings—you saw when he left, he blamed the players and (said), ‘I’m not gonna talk to ‘em. Like, that’s the guy who is going to inspire you? I don’t know. I think this could go really bad for Dallas.

“Now, look, their schedule sets up really well, for Dallas. But this could go really bad for them.”

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Cowboys Facing Tough Slate Ahead

The schedule sets up really well for Dallas here in Week 4, as they go to New York to play the Giants, a 1-2 team that has scored just 45 points all season. The Giants average 105 yards per game on the ground, which is where the Cowboys have struggled most this season defensively.

Dallas has yielded 557 yards in total on the ground in three weeks, which is worst in the NFL. If the Cowboys run defense gets a break after facing Alvin Kamara in Week 2 and Derrick Henry in Week 3, it will signify a good bit of rest for the team.

But the schedule does not get easy. The Cowboys stay on the road in Week 5 to play the undefeated Steelers before getting the Lions at home. After the Week 6 bye, the Cowboys get San Francisco, Atlanta and Philadelphia.

After the Giants, then, the Steelers will get five straight likely playoff teams, including at least two Super Bowl contenders.

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