Rex Ryan interviews for Broncos’ DC job

Former NFL head coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan was interviewing in Denver Saturday for the job of the Broncos’ defense coordinator on Sean Payton’s staff, sources said ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Ryan and former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph are among a handful of candidates for the job. Joseph, who has been the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator since 2019, is also expected to be interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator position, according to multiple reports.

Ryan, 60, has told ESPN he would only leave the network “for the perfect situation,” Schefter reported.

He joined ESPN in April 2017 after a nearly 30-year coaching career that spanned eight seasons as NFL head coach with the New York Jets (2009-14) and the Buffalo Bills (2015-16). He led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Prior to becoming head coach, Ryan was with the Baltimore Ravens for 10 seasons, including four seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator in which his unit ranked in the top 10 each season.

Ryan’s defense with the Jets also finished in the top 10 in five of his six seasons as head coach.

Payton hired longtime NFL assistant/special teams coach Mike Westhoff as his assistant head coach, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Legwold on Friday. Westhoff, who turned 75 last month, will oversee the Broncos’ special teams, with Ben Kotwica being hired as special teams coordinator. Westhoff and Kotwica worked together on the Ryan’s Jets team from 2009 to 2012.