One thing Ryans has preached to the 2024 edition of his roster is that year-to-year success isn’t given. It’s earned.
“That football season, 2023, is one I’ll always remember,” he said. “It was a special one because we were able to do it with special people. Getting C.J. and getting Will (Anderson) and Tank (Dell), so many young guys who contributed to flipping that culture in such a short period of time. It doesn’t happen easy, it doesn’t happen quickly without the right people. I’m very excited to have those guys and to work with those guys and to have the year that we had.
“People talk about how exciting of a year it was, but I throw up a stat to our guys this offseason, like, ‘Look, I know we won some games, but guys, look, we had 10 games within one score, and these games were down to the wire and we had to find a way at the end.’ That doesn’t change. That’s the NFL. It’s about being smart, being confident in those crucial situations, like the last two minutes of a game. Can you go perform? Can you be clear-minded and go execute the details of your job to the highest level? That’s what it’ll come down to. So I just always remind them, like, ‘Hey, we didn’t just blow everybody out!’ Those games can go either way, and you have to continue to prepare that way coming into this new season. It’s not just going to happen again. You have to start back over at ground zero and work your way back up.”