Rex Ryan is no longer the head coach of the Buffalo Bills and now, as every NFL head coach with an ounce of personality is wont to do, works for ESPN.
The network announced Ryan’s hiring Monday as an analyst on “Sunday NFL Countdown” among other duties, but his first assignment won’t be on the NFL beat. Instead, Ryan will make his ESPN debut at on the network’s coverage of Florida State’s spring game on Saturday.
Ryan’s assignment comes with a few strings of conflicted interest. Ryan’s son Seth Ryan was a wide receiver/holder on Clemson’s 2016 national championship team -- he is not listed on the Tigers’ 2017 roster -- and the elder Ryan has made no effort to hide his affinity for Florida State’s SEC rivals.
For #bills fans wondering, Rex Ryan parked next to me, the bills wrap on the truck is gone. It's now this: pic.twitter.com/D78bLcRBpk
— BrandonWNY (@BrandonWNY) January 16, 2017
And it’s not like Ryan was doing anything wrong by supporting Clemson. Nothing of the sort. He was a father supporting his son, and now he happens to call a rival team’s spring game. Not exactly the level of impartiality required for a presidential debate, nor is it a notable conflict of interest at a network that once had an analyst call a game in which his brother served as a head coach.
But it is something viewers should be aware of as Ryan yuks it up in his ESPN debut.
The ‘Noles spring game will be showed at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday.
