Who could forget the scene after Super Bowl XX? Mike Ditka being carried on the shoulders of his victorious Chicago Bearsplayers, and off in the distance another coach was being carried….it was Bears Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan. Never before and never since has a team’s coordinator been carried off of the field after a Super Bowl victory. Only a few short years earlier, Bears players had to petition to keep Ryan as their Defensive Coordinator as Mike Ditka came in to replace Neill Armstrong as Head Coach. The petition seemed to work out for both sides. The Bears were the best in the land and Buddy Ryan had what he always wanted, respect.

After that Super Bowl victory, Ryan left the Bears for the supposed greener pastures of Philadelphia. He had been hired as the Eagles new Head Coach. His tough detail to defense and no nonsense way with players meshed perfectly with a city of the same description. During Ryan’s tenure in Philadelphia his Eagles teams earned a reputation of being tough and competing every time they stepped on the field. In other words, they had the respect of their opponents. That respect was almost jeopardized only one year into Ryan’s head coaching career. A game against the hated Dallas Cowboys was well in hand for the Eagles. However, Ryan called a time out late in the game so that his team could get off another play and try to run up the score. This is a proverbial slap in the face in football. According to Ryan, it was a revenge play against Cowboys head coach Tom Landry for running up the score against Eagles replacement players earlier in the season. This was a brash move even for an outspoken personality such as Buddy Ryan. I mean, this was the great Tom Landry.

Fast forward to 2009. Ryan’s twin sons, Rob and Rex, are now coaching in the NFL. Rex is the rookie head coach for the New York Jets and Rob is the Defensive Coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Both sons following in their father’s foots steps in more ways than one. Like their dad, Rob and Rex have come up the NFL coaching ranks by using their smarts for defense and their brawn for everything else. Not to mention the most noticeable family trait handed down; the resemblance to WWF legend Captain Lou Albano. Now, neither one has taken it as far as pops and punched a fellow coordinator on the sideline during a game, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did. Still, whenever the Ryan family/coaching tree is brought up, the word respect is soon followed.

Somehow, I don’t think the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots got the memo. Week seven of this football season, the Chicago Bears took the field against the Cleveland Browns. Rob Ryan was coaching against the team that made his dad a champion. The game wasn’t much for drama; the Bears won 30-6. Before the game was over, the Bears had a comfortable lead late in the fourth quarter and were facing a fourth and goal situation. With not much hesitation, the Bears coaching staff decided to go for it. With his defense already beaten, Coach Ryan took exception to this arrogant play. Bears quarterback Jay Cutlergetting the brunt of the coach’s disapproval. Four weeks later, brother Rex would get his Rodney Dangerfield moment as well. The New England Patriots were hosting Rex’s Jets in a tough divisional game. This game wasn’t much for drama either; the Patriots won 31-14. With a nice lead late in the fourth quarter, Patriots coach Bill Belichick felt the need to run up the score on Ryan’s defeated team. After the game, Ryan expressed that he felt disrespected by the future Hall of Fame Coach.

Like their father, the twin brothers are fiery coaches who want nothing more than to win, somehow rubbing people the wrong way during the process. Buddy Ryan didn’t take much nonsense from anyone, but didn’t seem to give the same respect he so craved. Rob Ryan took exception to a team trying to better itself and work on goal line situations in real game speed. Rex Ryan is 10 games into his coaching career and didn’t like the way he was treated by a multiple Super Bowl champion winning head coach. Guess apples really don’t fall too far from the tree.