The Bills this morning officially named Rex Ryan their new coach, signing him to a five-year deal worth $27.5M and delivering a "clear-cut signal that it's a whole new era" for the franchise, according to Sal Maiorana of the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE. Ryan was the "best head coaching candidate available on the open market," and Bills Owner Terry Pegula "went and got him." Pegula is paying Ryan a "king's ransom," and the salary "dwarfs the previous record contract paid to a Bills coach" -- Doug Marrone's four-year, $16M deal signed in '13 (DEMOCRATANDCHRONICLE.com, 1/12). In Buffalo, Jerry Sullivan writes Pegula is a "big-time NFL owner now," and by hiring Ryan, Pegula "proved he is capable of swimming with the sharks in the most powerful sports league on Earth." Pegula and wife Kim "took their time, cast a wide net, and came away with one of the biggest, shiniest fish in the ocean." They "didn’t hesitate and got their man." Hiring Ryan "restores a sense of credibility to a franchise that was staggered by its dysfunctional past" (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/12). QMI AGENCY's John Kryk wrote, "With their first spotlight hire as new owners of the Bills, Terry and Kim Pegula nailed it." Western New York is a "region starving for relevance on NFL football fields," and Ryan "instantly provides it" (QMI AGENCY, 1/11).
NOT TIME TO PANIC: In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz wrote there is not "any reason to panic" about the Bills' hiring Ryan, who "appeared to be favored" by Falcons Owner Arthur Blank for the team's coaching vacancy. Schultz: "Blank liked the potential Ryan would bring in defensive philosophy, enthusiasm and marketability, but he clearly wasn’t ready to make him an offer last week or he would have -- and I don’t blame him." Ryan "would’ve potentially been a bigger problem than any other candidate because he’s the loudest personality" (AJC.com, 1/11). The MMQB's Peter King said of Blank, "The perception is that he’s had two bad years in a row with his team and he’s angry. My perception is that he’s standing up and saying ‘I’m taking a more active role.’ If we don’t get it done with the people we have here, we’re going to change the people we have here." King: "Go back to the Rooneys in Pittsburgh. For the Rooneys it (has) always been a part of their family business. Now, it does appear that Arthur is getting more involved on a day to day basis" (AJC.com, 1/10).
