- Slug: Sports-Ryan Remembered, 551 words
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By JOHN ALVARADO
Cronkite News
GILBERT, AZ. — Former Cardinals coach Buddy Ryan had a rough and tough demeanor maybe best exemplified by the time he punched offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride during a 1993 game when they were a coaching together with the Houston Oilers.
However, Byron Evans, a linebacker for Ryan in Philadelphia, counters with a story about Ryan’s softer side from Thanksgiving in 1987.
A fourth-round draft pick out of Arizona, Evans was going to be alone as the holiday approached because his family was back home. Instead, he received an invite from Ryan to spend Thanksgiving with the coach and his wife.
“I didn’t have my family there in ‘87 so I don’t know why he invited me by, but that was special for me,” Evans said.
Ryan died on Tuesday at age 85. His former players around the country have been praising the fiery coach for his competitiveness and his ability to drive them to succeed. Evans and former Eagles cornerback Mark McMillian talked about Ryan during Camp 29, a football camp for high school and college players at Williamsfield High School.
McMillian played with the Eagles when Ryan was coaching the Cardinals. He said he would venture over to the Arizona sideline to exchange verbal jabs with the coach.
“He was always the guy I seemed to attract the attention of,” he said. “So me and him always had some words. Words that I can’t say on (tape).”
Even though the two men were on rival teams, McMillian said he still respected who Buddy Ryan was.
Evans said his first conversation with Ryan was during a visit before the 1987 NFL Draft to the Eagles.
“He invited me down and asked me three questions,” Evans said. “He asked me how much I weighed and I told 220 to 225 pounds.”
The 1986 Pac-10 Defensive Player of Year said his head coach began to question whether or not the Arizona linebacker could fit the 46 defense after watching film of him from a game against the University of Southern California in 1986.
“He said ‘Do you think you can run the 46 defense?’
“I said, ‘Coach, give me enough time and I will be able to run the 46 defense,” said Evans, who now coaches at the Arizona State University Preparatory Academy in Phoenix.
In those four years with the inventor of the 46 defense, Evans and the Eagles went to the playoffs three times but never won.
Before his time with the Eagles, Ryan was the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears from 1978 to 1985 where he became a part of a historic defensive team that ended its season with a victory in Super Bowl XX over the New England Patriots.
It was in Chicago that Ryan devised the “46,” which is named for the jersey number worn by Bears safety Doug Plank.
The 1990 season was Ryan’s last in Philadelphia. His final coaching turn in the NFL came with the Arizona Cardinals in 1994-95. McMillian was drafted by the Eagles in 1992, after Ryan departed. However, Ryan’s fingerprints were still on the Eagles defense.
“I got drafted by Richie Kotite and most of guys on the defensive side of the ball were Buddy’s guys,” McMillian said. “I got a chance to play with a lot of those guys and the mentality that they brought to the game was a true passion of Buddy Ryan’s.”
Evans said he called Ryan every now and then to tell the coach that he loved him and was keeping him in his prayers.
“I knew his health was failing him,” Evans said. “I would just tell him I was thinking about him and praying for him.”
