DBWI: Buddy Ryan Departs Da Bears

The Chicago Bears of late have struggled to match the dominance of the 1985-1988 Bears teams that won four consecutive Super Bowls (XX, XXI, XXII, and XXIII), partof their six titles (they also won Super Bowls XXV and XXVI). Perhaps the biggest reason was the dynamic between head coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. The two remained together in Chicago until both stepped down after 1992, when Mike Singletary retired.

However, Buddy Ryan could have left much sooner - he reportedly was offered the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching job that opened up after the 1985 season, but passed on it.

So, here is the question... would the Bears have won six Super Bowls if Buddy Ryan had left?
 
Probably not. Buddy kept that D at a dominant level, and his players loved him to death.

How many do you think they would have won?

The fact is, they got real lucky by having the rights to Steve Young by drafting him in the 9th round of the 1984 NFL draft. Ironically, it was Jim McMahon who had suggested that the Bears pick up his college backup! Ditka later admitted that he'd considered drafting someone named Mark Casale, but McMahon made such a pest of himself that the front office picked Young just to shut him up!

With McMahon's injury history, it was a smart move. Young took over, and did pretty darn well. You can't quite argue with the results in the 1986-1988 timeframe. Young took over the starting job in 1989, and McMahon became the backup.

You gotta assume that McMahon would not have shut up in any case... so, the Bears don't win six, but they still take three or four Super Bowl rings back to Chicago.
 
Not only would Buddy leaving hurt the Bears' defense but I doubt he does well with the Eagles. His two attempts at heading coaching in the 1990s with the Rams and Seahawks were miserable failures and his sons have not had success as head coaches in the NFL.

The Ryans are great defense coordinators but are out of their depth as head coaches.
 
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