It's been nearly a decade since Rex Ryan coached his first game as a member of the NY Jets organization. Nine years later, his son could be set to join the Jets' coaching staff.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that the Jets have requested to interview Seth Ryan, the son of Rex, and the Detroit Lions' assistant wide receivers coach, for their vacant wide receivers coach position.
The position was left vacant following the decision to part ways with Miles Austin last month. Ryan has been with the Lions as their assistant wide receivers coach in each of the last two seasons and even survived the firing of Anthony Lynn last offseason.
He previously spent time as the offensive quality control coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019 and 2020. At just 28 years old, Ryan would undoubtedly be one of the youngest position coaches in the NFL.
The NY Jets could hire Rex Ryan's son to be their new wide receivers coach
A former high school standout in New Jersey, it wasn't long ago that Ryan was running around the practice fields in Florham Park during his father's stint with the Jets, as Brian Costello of the New York Post recounts.
Ryan went on to play college ball as a wide receiver at Clemson from 2013 to 2016, during which he won the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship with a victory over Alabama.
An NFL career as a player never materialized, but Ryan has decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a coach. That career path seems to be working thus far.
Ryan helped develop Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown from a fourth-round rookie into a legitimate No. 1 wideout. It says a lot that the Lions decided to keep the young assistant even after they parted ways with their offensive coordinator after his first season.
The Ryan family has deep roots in NFL coaching, with Rex's father, Buddy, serving as a longtime NFL assistant and later head coach from 1968 all the way until his final stint as a coach in 1995.
Of course, there's also Rob Ryan who was one of the most famous defensive coordinators of his era. Seth Ryan hopes to become the next Ryan family member to reach those heights, although, unlike his predecessors, he's making a name for himself on the offensive side of the ball.
There's a new Coach Ryan in town, and soon enough, he might be calling Florham Park his home — much like his father did nearly a decade ago.