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Former Jets player doesn't expect Rex Ryan to change in Buffalo

Damien Woody knows Rex Ryan pretty well. The former New York Jets right tackle played the final two years of his NFL career under the man who is now the head coach of the Buffalo Bills.

And Woody doesn't expect Ryan to change his larger-than-life ways with his new team.

(Graphic by Amber Matsumoto)
(Graphic by Amber Matsumoto)

During his six years in New York, Ryan's Jets were long on controversy (player arrests, the Ines Sainz harassment issue, his foot fetish video) and short on actual success (AFC championship game appearances his first two years followed by four straight seasons without the playoffs). But Ryan was always the consummate players' coach, sometimes to a fault. 

His ship was often loosey-goosey in nature and the criticism from outside (and sometimes from within) was that the inmates ran the asylum. There seemed to be a lack of discipline in recent years, something that mirrored Ryan's own penchant for being a free-flowing personality and a vortex for all conventional norms. 

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"When I was there, we had a veteran-laden team. We had a great locker room, guys who were professionals. Guys who understood how to come to work, do the things you're supposed to do. So I didn't see those type of things," Woody told Yahoo Sports. "As the years went on, the locker room changed  and a lot of younger guys came in.  

"Rex is more of a players coach. His approach is that 'I'm going to treat you like men until proven otherwise.' He's not a disciplinarian coach like that, it's not him." 

Woody is now retired and working for ESPN as one of their army of NFL analysts. He also is involved with Citi Kids, an educational and motivational community-based initiative for New York City middle and high school students. He spoke to 140 students early in August about his own upbringing prior to a New York Mets game.

As for Woody's old coach Ryan, his legacy of being a players' coach is continuing with his rebuilding job in Buffalo. The team's latest personnel move points towards a repeat in history. 

The Jets had just waived IK Enemkpali after the linebacker had punched quarterback Geno Smith, breaking his jaw. Ryan had drafted Enemkpali in the sixth round last year, his final draft with the Jets. He had done so knowing that Enemkpali already had a major red flag on his resume, an incident while in college in which he punched an off-duty police officer. 

And despite the latest incident with Smith, Ryan still rolled the dice and signed Enemkpali. It is Ryan's belief that he can get through to every player, no matter the baggage and what is (or is not) going on between his ears. 

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It played out time and time again with the Jets, creating a locker room that led former running back LaDainian Tomlinson to say was “as bad as I’ve ever been around.” For better or worse, Ryan is going to go about things in a similar way with the Bills.

"We could sit here and say maybe Rex should have changed but that is who Rex is. One thing he always said is that he'll stay true to who he is. Unfortunately, things came to a head and he and the Jets had to part ways," Woody said. 

"I'm sure Rex is going to tweak things in Buffalo, things he didn't do in New York, but I think he's also going to keep being Rex, keep being who he is."

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Kristian R. Dyer writes for Metro New York and is a contributor to Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KristianRDyer. Email him at kristianrdyer@yahoo.com