Former HBCU football star Ryan Davis Sr. is now officially a coach in the NFL. According to a tweet from Dan Leberfeld, Publisher of Jets Confidential Magazine, Davis has gotten a promotion from Coaching Intern to Defensive Assistant for the New York Jets.
Ryan Davis, Sr. was a standout defensive lineman for HBCU Bethune-Cookman from 2008 to 2011 where he was a difference-maker for the Wildcats for all four of his years in Daytona Beach.
As the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season, he led the MEAC with 12 sacks, (10th in FCS) 21.5 tackles for loss (7th in FCS), and 65 total tackles (40 solo). He also finished the year with 17 quarterback hurries, eight forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and a safety. Making him a top HBCU football prospect in his draft class.
Davis’ path to playing in the NFL is a story of perseverance, after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2012 by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ryan Davis found himself waived and resigned several times with numerous stints on the practice team and active roster during his rookie season.
It wasn’t until November of the 2013 season that Ryan Davis Sr. began to make a name for himself in the NFL. The Jaguars played the Houston Texans in November and Davis made a game-ending interception. Then in December, Davis sacked Houston quarterback Matt Schaub while the Texans were out of timeouts to give his team another win over their division foe.
By the end of the 2014 season, Davis was a key figure on the Jags defense, being active for all 16 games and posting 17 tackles (7 for loss), 6.5 sacks, 2 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 special teams tackles.
During his six-year NFL career, Ryan Davis played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and the Los Angeles Rams. He appeared in 63 games where he totaled 14 sacks, 44 solo tackles, and 4 forced fumbles.
After his playing career was over Davis returned to Jacksonville where he began his coaching career after being offered a spot in the NFL & NCAA Coaches Academy in Indianapolis in 2023.
“I was so happy when I got that call. I had a huge smile on my face,” Davis told the Jaguars Senior Correspondent, Brian Sexton. “It’s another opportunity, you know? Just getting onto an NFL roster was tough, making it and then finding a way back is tough, too. A lot of people ask; ‘why aren’t you coaching college football?’ Coaching is a process and I’m going through it, and I reach out to people and some things might not be available when I want them. So, I just keep going and pushing the envelope, and then the Jags call and here I am.”
And just like he did as an HBCU football player, Davis has taken that opportunity and made the most out of it, parlaying his time at the NFL & NCAA Coaching Academy into an internship with the New York Jets for the 2023 season.
“I wasn’t a five-star guy or even a drafted player, but that didn’t really matter,” he told Sexton in the 2023 interview. “I had to cut my teeth wherever I went in order to get where I wanted to go. You don’t get very far without a passion for the game and plan. I’m still that guy now, as someone who wants to coach, as I was when I was that guy who wanted to play. Nothing has changed except where I line up.”
Ryan Davis Sr. is set to begin his first season as an NFL coach in 2024 as a Defensive Assistant with the New York Jets, and if his past is any indication, this is only the start of what is sure to be a bright future coaching career. Proving that you can go anywhere from an HBCU.