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Buddy Ryan, NFL Coach and Defensive Mastermind, Dies at 82

AP file
In this Jan. 26, 1986, file photo, Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan is carried off the field by the team after the Bears beat the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX in New Orleans.

Buddy Ryan, a native of Frederick, Oklahoma who coached two defenses that won Super Bowl titles and whose twin sons Rex and Rob have been successful NFL coaches, has died. He was 82.

His agent, James Solano, said Ryan died Tuesday in Kentucky. He did not give a cause.

The always outspoken Ryan was a linebackers coach for the 1968 New York Jets and coordinated the ground-breaking 46 defense for the '85 Chicago Bears, one of the NFL's greatest defenses. He was a head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1986-90, and for the Arizona Cardinals in 1994-95, compiling a 55-55-1 overall record.

Ryan played college football for Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State) where he earned four letters as a guard between 1952 and 1955.

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