Rex Ryan: Bills will 'build a bully'

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Rex Ryan was as brash as ever in his first news conference as the Bills' new coach, predicting that Buffalo will end its long postseason drought while promising that he will "build a bully" that opposing teams won't want to face.

The Bills introduced Ryan on Wednesday, two days after hiring the former New York Jets coach.

After tapping the microphone and asking, "Is this thing on? Because it's getting ready to be on," Ryan exuded confidence and enthusiasm while talking about his plans for the Bills.

"I'm not going to let our fans down," he said. "I'm not going to do that. I know it's been 15 years [since Buffalo reached the playoffs]. Well, get ready. We're going."

Ryan gained renown for his bombastic personality during his six-year tenure with the Jets, and that was on full display Wednesday.

"We are going to build a bully, and we're gonna see if you want to play it for 60 minutes," he said.

The defensive-minded Ryan will inherit a Buffalo defense that finished fourth in the NFL in yards allowed, recorded a league-leading 54 sacks and produced three Pro Bowl linemen this season.

But Ryan has even higher expectations.

"Fourth in the league was probably a little disappointing," he said. "I know we'll lead the league in defense."

Ryan, who will be Buffalo's eighth head coach in the past 18 years, said the Bills deserve "a loyal coach," in what may have been a subtle jab at Doug Marrone, who opted out of his deal with the team on Dec. 31.

One reporter asked if Ryan was looking forward to facing the Jets twice in 2015, and the bombastic coach took his answer in another direction.

"I'll be honest: I think it's still the Patriots that I want the most," Ryan responded.

The Bills are 3-25 against New England since 2001, but Ryan's Jets played the Patriots tough in his six seasons in New York.

"We're not afraid of anybody," Ryan said of the Patriots. "Certainly not afraid of them. I respect them, I recognize the fact that they've won our division the last six years -- I think 10 out of the last 11 years they've won our division -- but that doesn't guarantee they're going to win it next year.

"And that doesn't mean that we can't be the team that's on top of them. I think there's a lot of talent that we already have here, and I can't wait for that either. That opportunity, getting to play them ... they certainly know that I'll look forward to those games, that's for sure.

"We're going into every game. We expect to win. Period. This team is going to expect to win, regardless of who they play. If they want to bring back [former Patriots tight end] Russ Francis and John Hannah to play guard, we'll play them too."

Ryan will report directly to owner Terry Pegula.

"This guy right here tells his Realtor, 'Where does the most snow fall in the area? I want to live there,'" Pegula said. "I mean, how Buffalo is that?"

In a one-on-one interview with ESPN's Michele Steele, Ryan confirmed that's what he said.

"Absolutely. That's a true statement. [Are we going to see you on a snowmobile at some point?] Yeah, I don't know how effective I'm gonna be at that or whatever, but yeah, that's it. I want to be ... this is the community we live in, and we're gonna embrace that. Yeah, wherever that snow dumps the most, that's where I want to live," he said.

Ryan went 46-50 with the Jets but swatted aside a question about him being a "mediocre" coach.

"I think [Bills fans] realize that I'm not a mediocre coach," he said. "The record may say that, especially this year -- you mentioned we had two 8-8 [records] and a couple of losing seasons and lousy seasons and whatever -- but they understand the game a lot better than you give them credit for, apparently, because I'm not a mediocre coach and anybody that thinks so, I would challenge them with that."

Ryan interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers before settling on the Bills, with the New York Daily News reporting Sunday that Ryan preferred to coach both of those teams more than the Bills.

"That's definitely false. Did I interview with the Falcons? Did I interview with the 49ers? Absolutely," Ryan said. "When I came in, I was kind of blown away by the direction in many things about this. I came back and I told my wife, I said, 'Wow, this is really something.'

"My only concern was, did they feel as good about me as I felt about them? At the same time, you're trying to find a job, you're trying to find employment. There were maybe some other opportunities out there, but this was the place that I wanted to be and I was just thankful that they felt the same way."

ESPN.com Bills reporter Mike Rodak contributed to this report.