Buddy Ryan Loses Job In Phoenix Cardinals Oust Coach/General Manager After Poor Performance In Season Finale

The “winner in town” left as a loser.

Arizona Cardinals coach Buddy Ryan, whose team wrapped up a miserable 4-12 season with a 37-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, was fired Tuesday by owner Bill Bidwill.

Bidwill said he hadn’t thought about dismissing Ryan until he watched the Cardinals come out flat against their NFC East rival. Ryan, also the general manager, had two years remaining on his contract.

“Last night, I started to think what the solution to this situation might be, and this morning I came to the conclusion that this is the way we should go,” Bidwill said.

He said wins and losses, not declining attendance or the daily Ryan-bashing on talk shows, were behind his decision. The Cardinals lost seven of their last eight games.

Ryan, 61, a brash and abrasive Korean War veteran who brought a military ethic to his coaching, was 12-20 in two seasons with the Cardinals. His style - marked by his claiming “You’ve got a winner in town,” when he arrived in 1994 - alienated some people but endeared him to most of his players.

Reached at home, Ryan declined to comment on his ouster, a move that prompted fullback Larry Centers to say he would like to be traded.

“I’m a Buddy man, and I didn’t want to see him go,” said Centers, whose 12 catches against the Cowboys gave him an NFL season record for catches by a running back (101).

“He’s an honest guy, a guy who treats players fair, a guy who tells it to you like it is and not somebody who’s going to sugar-coat things.”

Ryan was not even on the field for the end of Monday night’s game. He mistakenly ran from the sideline in the closing seconds, thinking the game over. As play was completed, Ryan watched from the tunnel.

Middle linebacker Eric Hill, who called the defensive signals in Ryan’s blitzing defense, said the dismissal was as much politics as it was the Cardinals’ record.

Bidwill is trying to marshal support for a $200 million domed stadium, which would need some public funding.

“My gut feeling is that has a lot to do with building the new stadium,” Hill said. “I don’t think he was getting much support for the spending because of the way people have been riding Buddy lately.”

Bidwill, who met briefly Tuesday with Ryan, denied the proposed stadium had anything to do with the firing.

“I like Buddy, and I think my relationship with Buddy has been friendly and above-board,” Bidwill said. “And I truly regretted having to do this.”

Ryan’s NFL coaching career began in 1968, when he was a defensive assistant for the New York Jets.