Baltimore's Ryan waiting, eager for head coaching job

WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Now, more than ever, I'm convinced Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan should be somebody's next candidate as a head coach.

So, for that matter, is Ryan -- which is why I hope it happens.

It's only a matter of time for Rex Ryan to get his head-coaching shot. (Getty Images)

OK, I admit it. I'm a sucker for accomplished guys who are candid and confident, and Ryan is both. He's not afraid to tell you what he wants out of coaching, and what he wants is a promotion. He wants to become a head coach.

He doesn't care where it is or whom he works for. He just wants it to happen.

"I'm as ready as anybody else out there," he said. "They're hiring assistant coaches who haven't been around the game as long as I have. All my life I've been around it. And if you look at the body of work I think my resume stacks up with any of these guys."

Rex Ryan is not just "anybody else" out there. He's the coordinator of one of the most aggressive, intimidating and successful defenses in the NFL -- a unit that last year allowed the fewest points and yards and was second in takeaways and pass defense.

So the Ravens didn't win a playoff game. Don't blame Rex Ryan. His players held Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts to five field goals, and, usually, that's good enough to win.

Which is why he's an ideal candidate. He comes from a coaching background. He headed the league's best defense. His two predecessors in Baltimore went on to become head coaches. And long before he was a coordinator he made a name for himself as the team's defensive line coach.

Those were the days when the Ravens went a stretch of 50 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.

Impressive, huh? Well so is this: Ryan showed up at camp this summer weighing 60 fewer pounds than a year ago. He's down to 290, and he's not shy talking about it.

"I was shocked when I weighed myself one day, and it said 350 pounds," he said. "I thought, my gosh, that's not me. I decided I wanted to see my kids coach, if that's what they want to do."

I like that, but I like this, too. When pressed on the issue, Ryan admitted he wanted to make himself more attractive to the next club looking for a head coach. So he decided to do something about it. He listened to a nutritionist, started exercising and started shrinking.

Those who know him marvel at what he did. I marvel at why he did it.