Lions assistant wide receivers coach Seth Ryan wanted for interview by Jets

The Detroit Lions have seemed to be out of the woods in terms of losing coaches, but assistant wide receivers coach Seth Ryan is wanted for an interview.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson withdrew his name from head coaching consideration. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is now out of the mix for both head coaching jobs he interviewed for.

So the Detroit Lions won’t be losing any coaches, right? Not so fast.

According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Super Bowl Sunday, the New York Jets have requested to interview Lions assistant wide receivers coach Seth Ryan for their wide receivers coach position. The opening on the Jets’ staff was created when Miles Austin received a gambling-related suspension from the NFL.

Ryan has been with the Lions the last two seasons. He followed former offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn to Detroit, after being a quality control coach for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019 and 2020 when Lynn was the head coach there.

Seth Ryan could return to coach for franchise he is very familiar with

Ryan’s father, Rex Ryan, was the Jets’ head coach from 2009-2014. The now 28-year old was a presence on the Jets’ practice fields when his dad was the head coach.

Ryan played collegiately at Clemson from 2013-2016. He was part of the the Tigers’ national championship team in his final season. A pro playing career as a wide receiver did not materialize, so he got into the family business of coaching.

As our friends at The Jet Press remind us, Ryan’s grandfather Buddy was a long-time NFL coach. Uncle Rob Ryan has been a defensive coordinator at multiple spots, and spent this past season with the Las Vegas Raiders as a senior defensive assistant. And of course there’s his father, who has been working for ESPN but reportedly interviewed to be the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator under new head coach Sean Payton.

In Detroit, Seth Ryan has had a role in the development of Amon-Ra St. Brown from fourth-round pick to one of the top wide receivers in the league.