As the Cincinnati Bengals continue to search for solutions on defense, they shouldn’t bother wasting their time checking in with Rex Ryan.
Unsurprisingly, the Bengals’ devastating defeat vs. the Chicago Bears provided plenty of fodder for ESPN’s morning programming on Monday. And that included Ryan examining the Cincinnati defense, which surrendered 576 total yards in the 47-42 loss.
“This is last year, also. And they got rid of a highly respected defensive coordinator in Lou Anarumo. So who are you going to bring in there? Buddy Ryan? Bill Belichick? Me? — you ain’t gonna afford me,” the former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach said on Get Up as the room erupted in laughter. “You bring in a college guy and this happens to you. So the team has no confidence right now. Zero. You better rally this thing together.”
Rex Ryan on the Bengals defense: “They got rid of a highly respected defensive coordinator in Lou Anarumo. So who are you going to bring in there? Buddy Ryan? Bill Belichick? Me? — you ain’t gonna afford me…” pic.twitter.com/V5T5vNQTeE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 3, 2025
Although it’s unclear what Ryan’s asking price would be, he’s fair to assume that the Bengals wouldn’t be able to meet it. Under the ownership of Mike Brown, Cincinnati has developed a reputation for being one of the NFL’s most frugal franchises, both on and off the field.
While the Bengals have signed Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to high priced contract extensions in recent years, they’ve also allowed defensive cornerstones Jessie Bates and D.J. Reader to leave as a free agents and were unable to reach a long-term deal with pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson following a lengthy holdout. And that’s resulted in two straight seasons in which Cincinnati’s defense has been unable to hold up its end of the bargain opposite one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses.
That would seemingly indicate that the Bengals’ issues are more about roster construction that they are coaching or schematics. So even if Cincinnati was willing to pay a high profile defensive coach like Ryan, it’s hard to imagine the results changing without a new approach to the team’s roster construction.