Rick Don Bryan (March 20, 1962 – July 25, 2009) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for 10 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Bryan played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

, and received

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He ranked fifth on

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

2021 all-time “Top 10 Sooners Defensive Line” list. In another ''Sports Illustrated'' article titled “Greatest College Football Players by Jersey Number,” Bryan was mentioned as being the all-time greatest player of those who have ever wore college jersey number “80.” (WR Anthony Carter from

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

was on the list for wearing jersey number “1.” DE Hugh Green from

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

was on the list for wearing jersey number “99.”) The

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also stated in an article that Bryan was the best-ever college football player who wore jersey number “80.” Bryan was selected in the first round of the

1984 NFL draft The 1984 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held May 1–2, 1984 NFL season, ...

, and played professionally for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of the NFL. Bryan’s younger brother Steve Bryan also played for the Sooners and also played in the NFL. An article in

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

stated that Steve was an “All-Big Eight defensive lineman who helped the Sooners win the 1985 national championship before playing two seasons for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

.” Rick and Steve’s older brother Mitch didn’t play in the NFL, but did also play college football for the Sooners.

Early life

Bryan was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. He attended Coweta High School in

Coweta, Oklahoma Coweta is a city in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States, a suburb of Tulsa. As of 2010, its population was 9,943. Part of the Muscogee (Creek), Creek Nation in Indian Territory before Oklahoma became a U.S. state, the town was first settled ...

where he earned All-State honors in 1980. He began playing

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in high school but was moved to

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

by one of his coaches, Ben Wasson. Bryan was named to the ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

s All-century High school football team in 1999.

College career

Bryan was a consensus All-American at the University of Oklahoma in 1982 and 1983. He was Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year in 1982 and Academic All-Conference from 1981 to 1983. He owns the school record for career tackles by a defensive lineman (365), ranking him ahead of Kevin Murphy and

Lee Roy Selmon Lee Roy Selmon (October 20, 1954 – September 4, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a defensive tackle ...

. He is OU's eighth leading career tackler regardless of position. “No one outworked him,” said OU coach Barry Switzer.

Professional career

Bryan was selected by the

with the ninth overall pick in the

. Bryan was the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1984. He spent all nine years of his professional career with the

, and still has the tenth most sacks in a career in Falcons' history, with the eighth most yardage lost. He eventually was forced into retirement by a number of injuries, including neck and back pains and a popped Achilles tendon. He was diagnosed with a spinal nerve injury in 1989, but kept playing and started sixteen games in each of the next two seasons.

Death

Bryan died on July 25, 2009, at the age of 47, in his home in Coweta. He had suffered from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

and his family said he died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. 2,500 people attended his funeral in Coweta on July 30, 2009. He now has a sign dedicated to him on the road outside the Coweta High School. In 2018, contractors working for the Coweta school system completed construction of a new field house dedicated to Bryan. The honor was bestowed upon him not only because of his outstanding athletic abilities, but also for the time and effort he invested in the youth of the community. An article written by News on 6 stated that Bryan “always seemed to have time to work with kids; and putting his name on the new field house seems only natural.” On October 11, 2021, an EF-1 tornado severely damaged the Coweta Tigers’ baseball stadium, which is adjacent to the ''Ricky Bryan Field House''. The field house was minimally affected by the tornado.

References

External links

Rick Bryan's Pro Football Reference pagethe official Atlanta Falcons' statistics page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Rick 1962 births 2009 deaths All-American college football players American football defensive tackles Atlanta Falcons players Oklahoma Sooners football players People from Coweta, Oklahoma Players of American football from Tulsa, Oklahoma