Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan is a master of getting people to pay attention to him. That’s one of the reasons why the media loves him so much. In a world where coaches are clamming up more and more and offering non-cooperative non-answers to questions, Rex never met a microphone or a television camera or a story about him that he didn’t like.
One of the things Rex has done that’s gotten a lot of attention this year is trolling opposing teams by naming their former players now in Buffalo as captain. For Thursday night’s Jets game, that meant locker room knockout artist IK Enemkpali. Again, naming the guy who broke the jaw of the other team’s starting quarterback a captain is quite the line in the sand.
While the general media may love it, there’s still some old guard in the football media who don’t approve of Ryan’s tactics. One of which is former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher. Here’s Cowher’s quotes from Thursday Night Football via NFL.com:
“The captain tag is something that every head coach in this league takes seriously,” Cowher said. “The captain tag is something that players vote on, head coaches they give their title to. It requires a player that you think exemplifies leadership. You earn that. Rex Ryan has made a mockery of it and to me it’s annoying.
“I’m just saying that to put that out there. It’s not always about Rex. Everything isn’t about Rex. You used the platform to talk about Clemson. What does that got to do with this game? The game is being played by players on the field. It’s not about him. It’s about the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets playing for a game that’s got playoff implications. Again players like him, media loves him — that element of that bothers me. “
Ryan has COMPLETELY made a mockery of the captaincy process, and Cowher has every right to point that out… but that’s his prerogative, isn’t it? If he wants to troll and get under the skins of other teams, and his team is fine with it, then so be it. We’re talking about taking part in a ceremonial action before the game and getting a “C” on your chest and that’s really it.
Sure, it may eventually backfire on Rex some day, but for now it at least gives these pregame shows something interesting to talk about that puts the fake laughter aside for at least a few minutes.
[NFL.com]
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