http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14545272/rex-ryan-buffalo-bills-hires-rob-ryan-defense
Rex Ryan hires Rob Ryan to coach defense; will be 20-year reunion
11:44 PM ET
ESPN.com news services
Twin brothers Rex and Rob Ryan will be coaching together on the Buffalo Bills next season for the first time in more than 20 years.
Rob Ryan, the former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator who was fired last November, will be joining the Bills as assistant head coach for defense.
"I'm excited to have Rob join our staff and I think he will be a great asset for our defense," Rex Ryan said in a statement. "He has a tremendous working knowledge of our schemes and I look forward to his input."
The Ryan brothers have not worked on the same staff since 1995, when both were assistants with the Arizona Cardinals under their father, Buddy Ryan.
"On a personal note, it's been a number of years since we have worked together," Rex Ryan said. "And so we are both really looking forward to this opportunity."
The move comes after Ryan and team officials traveled to Florida to have end-of-season meetings with Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula.
Buffalo was led last season on defense by coordinator and longtime Rex Ryan assistant Dennis Thurman.
The Bills did not mention any other staffing changes beyond the addition of Rob Ryan.
Asked about Thurman last week, Rex Ryan would not comment specifically.
"I don't want to say anything until we talk to our coaches," Ryan said. "Some coaches may want to be here, may not want to be here, whatever it is."
Asked Dec. 10 about a possible reunion with his brother, Rex Ryan said, ""You never say never. ... It is fun to be around him, there's no question about it, and I know he's a great coach. But I think we purposely have tried to set different courses and things. But I never rule out that possibility. Obviously he's a great coach and if that happens, that'd be great."
Rob Ryan spent a week with the Bills' coaching staff at their facility in December prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, wearing team-issued Bills gear.
"It was great to have him out there," linebacker Preston Brown said last month. "It was kind of weird, because they have the exact same voice. So you kind of hear somebody talking and you think it's [Rex], but it's his brother. So it's cool having another great mind out there to help us get through the week."
The Bills' defense fell in several statistical categories this season, finishing 19th in yards allowed and 15th in points allowed.
The Saints' defense ranked last in the NFL in both yards allowed and points allowed before Ryan was fired following the Saints' 47-14 loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 10.
Hired in January after six seasons with the New York Jets, Ryan closed his first season in Buffalo with an 8-8 record and the Bills extended the NFL's longest active playoff drought to 16 consecutive years.
Rob Ryan has 28 years of coaching experience, including 17 at the NFL level. He won two Super Bowl titles as a linebackers coach in New England from 2000-03.
He's also had stops in Oakland, Cleveland and Dallas. In 2013, Ryan's first season in New Orleans, the Saints finished fourth in yards allowed, jumping 28 spots in the rankings from the previous year.
Information from ESPN staff writer Mike Rodak and The Associated Press was used in this report.