Rex Ryan brought up a story from his father's coaching days regarding Darrelle Revis today.
Rex Ryan is experiencing his first contract holdout as a head coach (see: Revis, Darrelle), which sometimes puts him in a delicate position. As a defensive-minded coach, he wants his best player on the field ASAP. But as the boss, he also wears the management hat, so he has to be careful what he says in public.
On Thursday, Ryan recalled past experiences with holdouts -- one that ended well, two that didn't. The latter two occurred in 1985, when his father, Buddy, was the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator. Two defensive starters from the '84 team, Todd Bell and Al Harris, held out the entire '85 season. They missed a Super Bowl championship and the chance to be part of arguably the greatest defense in history.
"They were replaced and missed out on a Super Bowl, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Ryan said.
A message to Revis, perhaps?
Only those guys know whether it was worth it. It feels like every time a guy chases money out of a winning situation, they regret it. Just ask Albert Haynesworth.