Rex Ryan Tells the Backstory of the Time He Once Buried a Football After the Patriots Beat the Jets 45–3

On today's Pardon My Take... REX RYAN! The former (and future?) NFL Head Coach joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter today to discuss some of the major highlights during his time with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, the keys to having an elite defense, the love for his wife's feet, and much more. If you followed Rex Ryan during his coaching days, you know that he is a big time #FootballGuy. One of the best examples? The time he buried a football when he was the Jets Head Coach. Take a look:

Mr. Commenter: So you left out a pretty big part, I think, of what you did to change the culture in New York. And that's you buried a football. You took a football when you got beat by the Patriots, I think it was 45-3?

Rex Ryan: We didn't get beat, we got annihilated. Here's the thing, you bring that up: both teams are 9-2, okay? Both teams are 9-2, we weren't exactly a bad football team, but my God, did we play bad that day. And part of the reason is we lost our brains that day. We lost Jim Leonard on a Saturday practice, and I got to pull this, and Robert Saleh said, "We had a great week of practice." Sick stuff! We had a great week of practice. We really did, the best week of practice we ever had. We go into Gillette Stadium, wherever the hell it was in New England. We got destroyed, dude, right from the jump. And I was an idiot, too, that all I wore was that little sweater vest freezing my ass off. And you want to see cold? Stand out there and get beat 45-3. I mean, you talk about, I'm like, "DAMN!" I couldn't wait to get that damn game over with. 

Rex Ryan: But I'm sitting back, and I watch the game on the way home, and I'm like, "You can't explain it." We played so poorly, it was a horrible game plan which we thought was going to be a great game plan. All this stuff was against us, and I'm like, "Man, what do I do?" So, I had all my team come in, and they know I'm going to just get all over their ass because we got beat, all that stuff. I'm like, meet me on the practice field. Now they know I'm pissed, right? So, they're all dressed, they're ready to go. 

Rex Ryan: I had already dug a hole and I had the game ball and I'm like, "This is the game ball from this. I'm going to bury this mother-. I want every one of you to go home and in six weeks, we're going to come back and play that team and kick their ass. That's what I told them, that's it, and everybody went home. Because, what were we going to do, watch the tape, I mean, after that ass whooping? There was no way to do it. And so, I had no pulse on my team, I thought that was the right thing to do. OK, I'll admit, I called my old man and said, "Dad, did you ever get your ass kicked that bad before?" He goes, "Oh yeah." I go, "What did you do?" He goes, "I buried the football." So, I could take credit for it, it was my old man that told me to bury the football!

Mr. Commenter: Was it actually the game ball? Be honest. Or was it just one that you had...

Rex Ryan: It was the actual game ball.

Mr. Commenter: Is it still there to this day? 

Rex Ryan: Let's hope it's still there. It's probably some collector going to go through, "It's right here. Dig this up, sell it on the internet for 10 grand!"

Mr. Cat: It works, we love football guys who do very literal things like this, like burying a football.

THIS is as #FootballGuy as it gets. Burying a football after your team gets the a-s-s kicked and just telling your team to go home is a great coaching move by Rex Ryan. And the best part about it? It worked! Six weeks later, the Jets returned to New England and stunned the Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round Playoffs. Yes, the famous Bart Scott, "CAN'T WAIT!" game.