Buddy Ryan denies he called Duerson the N-word

Writer Rob Trucks interviewed former Chicago Bear and New York Giant Dave Duerson back on November 27th and Duerson’s words from that discussion were published by Deadspin recently. It was an informative interview that included quotes from Duerson about how he didn’t think he’d live past 42.

But, there was another quote that we found interesting/disturbing. He claimed that Buddy Ryan, his defensive coordinator in Chicago, never liked him and even called him the N-word when he first met him.

“He said, ‘Well, you won’t be here too long, because I don’t like smart [N-words],’” Duerson said, according to Trucks. “I worked for Buddy for three years, and there was not a day that he did not remind me that I was not his draft pick, that he did not want me there or something to that effect: ‘You won’t be here too long because I’m trying my best to get you out of here.’ That kind of thing. And so it was a very lonely feeling in that regard. It was not motivational at all. The guy simply hated my guts, without question.”

And now, Ryan is saying that is not remotely true.

“That’s bull,” Ryan said. “I can’t believe he said that about me, because I was a great fan of his. He played great football. He was a great player. He started for us as a rookie. I don’t know why he would say that. That sounds terrible.”

Ryan was then asked about Duerson’s recent suicide.

“It was a shock,” Ryan said, “because I saw him at the reunion, and he looked great.”

There are probably a handful of people on the planet that know whether any of this really occurred, and OTR isn’t one of them. So, decide for yourself.