Bill Belichick haunts Rex Ryan’s dreams. This much is clear.
The former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills coach was asked whether coaching experience would play a factor during Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn will be coaching in just his second career playoff game, while Belichick will be putting on the headset for the 40th time in the postseason.
Despite the discrepancy in experience, which is the largest in NFL history per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Ryan doesn’t think Lynn will be scared by the satanic figure that prowls the Patriots sideline in a cut-up sweatshirt.
“I can tell you this about Anthony: He’s not going to be intimidated by Bill Belichick, and a lot of coaches are. But Anthony is not intimidated by the devil,” Ryan said, via Reiss. “In fact, he’ll look forward to this matchup, and I think that’s the difference between Anthony and almost every coach. That’s just him.”
That’s right, the devil.
This makes sense from Ryan’s perspective, as the outspoken coach compiled a 5-12 record against Belichick and the Patriots during his time in New York and Buffalo.
Ryan did notch a postseason win over the NFL’s king of the underworld, so perhaps he’ll impart some of his demon-slaying wisdom onto Lynn, who served as Ryan’s running backs coach in New York for two seasons.
LA enters Sunday’s game at Gillette Stadium a perfect 9-0 outside of Los Angeles County, but it’s unclear whether their road luck will play well in Satan’s domain.
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