AJC POLL: Fans wanted Rex Ryan to replace Mike Smith
FLOWERY BRANCH – In a poll that was posted over the weekend, Rex Ryan was the winner. The poll asked fans to pick the Falcons' next head coach.
Ryan, who's set to be announced as Buffalo's new coach today, tried to press the Falcons and speed up their corporate search. But when the team stuck to its schedule, he panicked and went to Buffalo. His camp is throwing darts at the Falcons after his negotiating tactics didn't work. He's represented by Jim Sexton.
Ryan has 37.49 percent of the 17,267 votes.
Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, who now considered the front-runner, was next with 23.1 percent followed by Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn who had 14.63 percent of the vote.
Josh McDaniels, New England's offensive coordinator, had 8.68 percent of the vote followed by “Other” with 4.51 percent.
Falcons special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong’s 3.31 percent, Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin’s 2.9 percent, Denver offensive coordinator Andrew Gase’s 2.76 percent and former Buffalo coach Doug Marrone’s 2.6 percent rounded out the voting.
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About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
