"The son of legendary coach Buddy Ryan and brother of former NFL head coach Rex Ryan has held clipboards and drawn up defensive formations everywhere from the Arizona desert to the Atlantic coast, from Tennessee State to the New England Patriots, Hutchinson Community College to the Dallas Cowboys. However, college football -- USC, of all places -- is different. This, the 62-year-old Ryan admits, is unexpected, even for him."
"His eyes dart down for a second, and he remembers how he ended up here -- wearing USC colors, living in a downtown L.A. apartment and coaching 18-year-old linebackers -- over 25 years after he last coached in college football, nearly 40 years from when he started in this profession. "I can remember parking the car here [at USC] and walking up," Ryan says. "I thought, 'Man, there's no way I'm ever going to take this job.'""
Rob Ryan presents a relaxed, candid demeanor while coaching at USC and often greets moments with a deep, boisterous laugh. He brings vast experience: nine NFL teams, five power-conference programs, two Super Bowl rings and hundreds of stories. He is the son of Buddy Ryan and brother of Rex Ryan and has worked across the country and at many levels of the sport. The move to college football and to USC surprised him after a long pro career. He now lives in downtown Los Angeles, coaches 18-year-old linebackers and reflects on returning to college more than 25 years later.
Read at ESPN.com
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