Buddy Ryan.. what do I remember about him? Hmm.. most of it was not good:
- Ran his mouth too much in AZ.. but my favorite quote of his was "If someone's more pain than a$$, then you cut him."
- Totally dismantled a team that was on the upswing (and yes, winning the last 3 games @ 7-9 was an upswing back then for AZ).
- Not a good sign for the Cardinals when his offensive coordinator was basically selling insurance the year before.
- WTF was he thinking making Jay Schroeder his QB? WTF?!! (I knew at that point the season was over.. and the first game hasn't even started yet.)
- He knew one type of defense... blitz - while always having a crappy cover corner opposite of Aeneas Williams. That 4-6 defense was horrid.
- One of my most memorable defensive "highlights" per Buddy: A 70+ yd bootleg run by a slow QB in Steve Bono. Priceless..
- The Legend of Larry Tharpe - nepotism that'd make Hillary proud. Ol' Buddy netted a offensive tackle/turnstile a large deal simply because his son was an agent for him. Larry Tharpe was soooo bad that defensive linemen on opposing teams got pissed when they got pulled from the game whenever Tharpe was playing. It was overheard that opposing D-linemen begged their coaches to let them back in so they can improve their sack total..
- While we're talking about nepotism, two lousy coaches worked here: Rex and Rob Ryan. Oddly enough, their defenses really haven't changed much throughout the years: Their respective defenses will give up 80 yards a game, while allowing 300+ in the air...
- Seth Joyner was decent his first year with the Cardinals, but Buddy let him get away with murder (in regards to his poor play) the next year.
- Overall, Buddy set back the Cardinals another 3-4 years after his firing. Good riddance (from the Cardinals)... yuck. Those flashbacks.
- Last but not least, the Cards locker room gets into a fight before the final game of the year against Dallas on MNF. Getting shellacked 37-13, Buddy heads back to the locker room... only to find out that the game is still going on. Soon afterwards, his arse is grass and Bill Bidwill is the lawnmower..