Rex Ryan is an American football analyst and former football coach who has a net worth of $20 million. Rex Ryan held coaching positions with various collegiate and NFL teams between 1987 and 2016, and won Super Bowl XXXV as the defensive line coach with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001. He finished his NFL career as head coach of the New York Jets from 2009 to 2014 and as head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2015 to 2016.

Rex Ryan was born on December 13, 1962 in Ardmore, Oklahoma to Doris and football coach Buddy. His fraternal twin is Rob, who also went on to become a football coach; their older brother is Jim. When the boys were still young, their parents divorced, and they subsequently lived with their mother in Toronto, Ontario. However, their mother thought it would be better for their career interests to live with their father, who was at the time serving as the defensive line coach for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. In 1978, the Ryan brothers moved to Illinois when their father became the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Settling in suburban Lincolnshire, they attended Stevenson High School. Rex and Rob went on to attend Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where they played for the football team. Subsequently, Rex attended Eastern Kentucky University, from which he obtained both BS and MS degrees in physical education.

After graduating from college in 1986, Ryan became a graduate assistant for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team. During his time in that position from 1987 to 1988, the Colonels won the Ohio Valley Conference title. In 1989, Ryan served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys. Next, from 1990 to 1993, he was the defensive coordinator for the Morehead State Eagles back in Kentucky. Following a two-year stint working under his father as the defensive line and linebackers coach for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, Ryan returned to collegiate coaching as the defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bearcats from 1996 to 1997. In the latter year, he helped the team make its first bowl appearance in half a century, winning the Humanitarian Bowl. Ryan ended his collegiate coaching career as the defensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners in 1998 and for one month as the defensive coordinator for the Kansas State Wildcats in 1999.

Ryan began his NFL coaching career under his father from 1994 to 1995, serving as the defensive line and linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals. He and the rest of the staff were fired after a 1995 season that saw a dismal 4-12 record. After returning to collegiate coaching for some years, Ryan became the defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 1999. Under his guidance, in 2000, the team set an NFL record for fewest rushing yards allowed. The Ravens went on to win Super Bowl XXXV 34-7 over the New York Giants. Due to a consistently powerful defense over the subsequent years, Ryan was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2005. He served in that role through 2007, when the entire Ravens staff was fired following a 5-11 season record. However, Ryan returned to the Ravens for one last season in 2008, under the direction of new head coach John Harbaugh. Named assistant head coach while retaining his defensive coordinator role, Ryan helped lead the Ravens to the 2009 AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ryan left the Ravens and became the new head coach of the New York Jets in early 2009. He had an impressive first season leading the team, as the Jets finished the regular season first in the NFL in rushing yards and total defense. The team made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Indianapolis Colts. Ryan had another strong season in 2010, leading the Jets to a near-franchise-best 11-5 regular season record and a second consecutive AFC Championship Game. This time, they were eliminated by the Steelers. The 2011 season was less successful, as the Jets finished with an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs, and 2012 was even worse, with the team posting a losing record for the first time under Ryan, at 6-10. With an overhauled coaching staff in 2013, Ryan turned things around slightly for the Jets, although still failed to lead the team to the playoffs. However, following a horrendous 4-12 record for the 2014 season, Ryan was let go at the end of the year.

In early 2015, Ryan became the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills on a five-year contract. He struggled during his first season with the team, putting together an 8-8 regular season record and extending the Bills' playoff drought to 16 seasons, a record for any active team at the time. For the 2016 season, Ryan hired his twin brother Rob as an assistant head coach and former NFL player Ed Reed as an assistant defensive backs coach. This was not enough to improve the Bills' fortunes, however, and Ryan was fired following a Christmas Eve loss to the Miami Dolphins that eliminated the Bills from going to the playoffs. After the season, Ryan profanely lambasted the team for allegedly quitting on him. He was succeeded as head coach by Sean McDermott, who went on to lead the Bills to the playoffs in 2017.

After being fired by the Bills, Ryan was hired by ESPN to provide analysis for the network's Super Bowl LI pregame and postgame coverage. He was subsequently hired as a full-time analyst for the network's "Sunday NFL Countdown." Beyond football analysis, Ryan competed on the 34th season of the CBS reality competition show "The Amazing Race" in 2022. Partnered with his golf buddy Tim Mann, he was eliminated second.

In 1987, Ryan married his college sweetheart Michelle. They have two sons named Seth and Payton, the former of whom is an NFL coach and former collegiate player.