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Buddy Ryan took a back seat to no one. Neither did his fierce defenses that won two Super Bowls.The pugnacious coach and defensive mastermind whose twin sons have been successful NFL coaches, died Tuesday. He was 85.His death was confirmed by the Buffalo Bills, where Rex Ryan is the head coach and Rob Ryan an assistant. James Solano, Buddy Ryans agent, said he died in Kentucky but did not give a cause. Ryan lived on a ranch in Shelbyville.He was many things to many people -outstanding coach, mentor, fierce competitor, father figure, faithful friend and the list goes on, Rex Ryan said in a statement. But to me and my brothers Rob and Jim, he was so much more. He was everything you want in a dad -tough when he had to be, compassionate when you didnt necessarily expect it, and a loving teacher and confidant who cherished his family. He truly was our hero.Ryan was a defensive line and linebackers coach for the 1968 champion New York Jets and coordinated the ground-breaking 46 defense for the title-winning 1985 Chicago Bears, one of the NFLs greatest defenses. He was a head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1986-90 and for the Arizona Cardinals in 1994-95, compiling a 55-55-1 overall record.Buddy Ryan was arguably one of the greatest defensive masterminds in NFL history and forever left his mark on the Eagles organization and the city of Philadelphia, Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie said.A few years ago, Ryan attended a Cowboys-Jets game, traveling to New Jersey despite cancer to see then-Jets head coach Rex go against then-Dallas defensive coordinator Rob.Buddy Ryan was the architect of the greatest defense our league has seen, Bears chairman George H. McCaskey said. He was brilliant when it came to the Xs and Os of the game, but what made him special was his ability to create an unwavering confidence in the players he coached.Rams coach Jeff Fisher played for and got his coaching start under Ryan.His knowledge, passion for football and the love he had for his players and coaches are traits that have shaped and influenced so many careers, including my own, Fisher saidJames David Ryan was a Korean War veteran who went to Oklahoma State, then earned a masters degree from Middle Tennessee State even while coaching. He got his first major job in the pros in New York, then of the AFL, in 1968. Ryan was the linebackers coach for the Joe Namath-led Jets, a boastful, confident team that fit his personality.Those Jets led the AFL in defense in his first season on staff, then shocked the Colts in the Super Bowl, 16-7.Thats something my dad was very proud of, Rex Ryan said. When (former Jets coach Weeb) Ewbank hired him, he had to make a difference. If he felt he wasnt making a difference, then his career as a professional coach would be short.Instead, it was very long.Ryans first job as a defensive coordinator came in 1976 with the Vikings under Bud Grant, like Ewbank a Hall of Fame coach. He spent two years there, with the 1976 team losing to Oakland in the Super Bowl. He then moved to the rival Bears, where he concocted the 46 defense that overwhelmed the league with its aggressiveness and unpredictability.Ryans defenders, featuring such Hall of Famers as linebacker Mike Singletary and ends Dan Hampton and Richard Dent, came from all angles and was nearly impossible to budge on the ground. Not that teams had more success in the air, either.Some say the 46 is just an eight-man front, said Ryan, who named the scheme after safety Doug Plank, who wore that number. Thats like saying Marilyn Monroe is just a girl.Ryan and head coach Mike Ditka often feuded during that 15-1 season and Super Bowl run. They nearly slugged it out at halftime of Chicagos only defeat, at Miami on a Monday night in December. (Ryan would punch offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride on national TV on Jan. 2, 1994, when both were assistant coaches in Houston.)I have great respect for Buddy, Ditka said. I have great respect for what he got out of our players. He was the reason in 85 that we had the defense and we won the Super Bowl. Theres no question about that. I didnt coach one second of defense. My job was to coach the football team and get everybody to try to do the same thing -- that was to win a championship. Thats what we ended up doing. We did it together.I never had another one and he never had another one, so we did something pretty special together, Ditka said. And thats all that really matters.Ryans work in Chicago got him the Eagles job.At a meeting the night before the Bears beat New England in the 1986 Super Bowl, Dent said a teary Ryan informed his players that he was going to Philadelphia:You guys are going to be my champions. Lets kick some tail, Ryan said.Hampton then kicked a film projector out of defensive line coach Dale Haupts hands, and defensive tackle Steve McMichael flung a chair across the room, its legs impaling a chalkboard.Such was the devotion players felt for Ryan, who guided the Eagles to the playoffs in 1988, `89 and `90. But they lost all three playoff games, and he was fired after the 1990 season by Eagles owner Norman Braman despite a 43-35-1 record.Earlier that season, Ryan bragged that his Eagles would so badly beat up the Redskins in a Monday night game theyll have to be carted off in body bags. The Eagles defense scored three touchdowns in a 28-14 win and knocked nine Redskins out of the game, including two quarterbacks.A year earlier, Philadelphia routed the Cowboys 27-0 on Thanksgiving Day with hardly any holiday feelings in the air. Cowboys kicker Luis Zendejas claimed Ryan put a $200 bounty on him, something Ryan laughed off as ridiculous.After one season as an assistant at Houston, Arizona hired Ryan as head coach in 1994 and the Cardinals went 12-20 in his two years there. He never coached again, letting Rex and Rob carry on the family legacy.There is no way we can possibly begin to measure how much football we have learned from him over the years, Rex Ryan said. And we are forever thankful to him for instilling within us his unwavering love for the game of football.Ryans Shelbyville home was about 30 miles east of Louisville. Few seemed to know about Ryan at two small restaurants attached to convenience stores, just a mile away from his golf course development. Fire and police officials said the coach also had a horse farm about 20 miles west in Simpsonville.Alan Zaring, though, thought Ryan made a fine neighbor.He didnt make a big deal about his past, and he could just be himself, said Zaring, who lived next door to him for seven years. He was still Buddy Ryan and could be crusty with people who sometimes worked at the house, but it would be in good fun. He didnt take himself too seriously.He will be missed, Zaring said.---AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi and Sports Writers Gary B. Graves and Andrew Seligman contributed to this report---This story has been corrected to show that Ryans age was 85. The change is made in keeping with public records. He has been listed over the years with a different birth date in numerous publications.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Air Force 1 Black Fake .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Air Force 1 Online Store . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. http://www.airforce1storesale.com/fake-air-force-1-high-outlet.html . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Air Force 1 Mens Wholesale . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. Air Force 1 Red Store . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. MINNEAPOLIS -- The transition in head coaches at Minnesota from Jerry Kill to Tracy Claeys has been subtle, save for a contrast in personality and size.Claeys had one big target for change, though. The offensive line needed to be restored as a power. Road graders was the label he used to describe the type of players desired up front.Jonah Pirsig and the rest of the returners received the message after their 6-7 season a year ago.Offensive linemen have just really bought into the fact that we need to be bigger and we need to be stronger to kind of change the culture, the senior right tackle said, adding: Were only going to see good things from that.With junior college transfers Vincent Calhoun and Garrison Wright joining Pirsig in the starting five, the Gophers will be bigger. Obsessive work in the weight room over the winter and spring has drawn rave reviews, so the group is stronger. Will it be better?Theres no question that theyve made a lot of progress, Claeys said.In 2015, the Gophers were second-to-last in the Big Ten in scoring, third-to-last in yards and fourth-to-last in rushing. Claeys fired offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Limegrover, picking Jay Johnson and Bart Miller as dual replacements. The five up front, of course, will go a long way toward senior quarterback Mitch Leidners success.I know theyve outworked everybody in the entire country, as far as that goes, Leidner said. They straight grind.Here are some other key angles to follow for the Gophers:LEIDNERS HELPERSWith Shannon Brooks hobbled by a foot injury, Rodney Smith will take the lead at running back following a promising freshman year for both of them. Senior Drew Wolitarsky is the only proven wide receiver. Tight end Brandon Lingen, named a captain as a junior, will likely be Leidners go-to guy.Its been an incredible thing to try to help lead this team in maybe some different capacities than I wouldve before, Lingen said.SECONDARY SCRUTINYSpeedster Jalen Myrick, who was second on the team laast season with three interceptions, will lead an inexperienced collection of cornerbacks with Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray in NFL camps.dddddddddddd. Safety Damarius Travis has returned for a fifth year after a hamstring injury in the 2015 opener led to a medical redshirt. Myrick and Travis will be counted to maintain the secondary as a team strength.One bonus for the defensive backs is that Jay Sawvel, their fiery former position coach, has replaced Claeys as defensive coordinator.Hes not only yelling at us, Travis said. Hes yelling at everybody.SEASON OPENERThe Gophers host Oregon State Sept. 1, their now-annual Thursday night lid-lifter. After kicking off last season with a 23-17 loss to TCU, ranked then No. 2 in the nation, the Gophers ought to have a smoother start. The Beavers finished 2-10 last year, including 0-9 in Pac-12 play, and allowed an average of 37 points per game that ranked 113th out of 127 FBS teams.KEY GAMESThe Big Ten opener at Penn State on Oct. 1 will be a big test, as will the Nov. 12 trip to Nebraska. For the Gophers, though, rare are the games more important than border-state rivals Iowa (home, Oct. 8) and Wisconsin (road, Nov. 26). The Hawkeyes are the defending Big Ten West Division champions, and the Badgers have beaten Minnesota 12 straight years. The Gophers have lost 10 consecutive games at Wisconsin since winning there in 1994.PREDICTIONBy trading TCU for Oregon State on the nonconference slate and swapping East Division crossover opponents Michigan and Ohio State for Maryland and Rutgers, the Gophers are set up for a significant jump from their 5-7 regular-season finish that got them to a bowl game only because there werent enough eligible FBS teams to fill the spots. An 8-4 record with a 5-4 mark in the Big Ten, now on a nine-game schedule, is a safe bet for 2016. Nine or 10 wins wouldnt be unrealistic, either. ' ' '