Jets coach Rex Ryan stepped in it this week when he claimed that if the Chargers had hired him when they hired Norv Turner, they would have won two Super Bowls by now.
Rex’s brother, Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, says that wasn’t a shot at Turner at all. It was just a sign of Rex’s obsession with getting as many Super Bowl rings as the rest of his family.
“Rex is constantly using that multiple ring thing, multiple ring this, multiple ring that, multiple ring this,” Rob Ryan said, via the Dallas Morning News. “The simple fact is it had nothing to do with Norv Turner. I coached with Norv. Norv is a great coach and a good man. He’s done obviously a great job in San Diego. The multiplicity thing is really ring envy.”
So what, exactly, is ring envy?
“His twin brother has two rings, his dad has three rings, he only has one, so you can see the multiplicity thing,” Rob Ryan said. “It’s embarrassing, because it’s all about the family. It’s a sibling rivalry and Norv got in the way of a sibling rivalry.”
Buddy Ryan won rings as an assistant with the Jets (Super Bowl III) and the Bears (Super Bowl XX). I’m not sure what third ring Rob is referring to. Rob Ryan won rings as an assistant with the Patriots (Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII), while Rex Ryan won his ring as an assistant with the Ravens (Super Bowl XXXV).
So, yes, Rex has the fewest rings of the Ryans. But Rex also has a chance to become the only Ryan to win a ring as a head coach.
