"I thought about quarter-horse racing, but that's a crazy business. Only a few big races, and you've got to run 'em at [age] 2. I don't want to break my horses down."

He's got that deep reservoir of patience when he's dealing with horses that he keeps concealed when he's dealing with football players.

"Football's a whole different game," he snarled. "You've gotta win now!"

Ryan will find out soon enough how many plodders he has in green and silver, facing a schedule only the Marquis de Sade's mother could love.

"We'll hit the first day of training camp," Ryan said. "We'll go one-on-one right off. We already know how smart they are. Now we'll find out how tough they are."

It may take a while to evaluate the guys who have not signed 1986 contracts. They may choose to sit home, by the telephone.

"I'm inviting everybody on the 17th [of July]," Ryan said bluntly. "It won't do any good if only a few of 'em show up. I want 'em all there, getting ready to play Washington in the opener.

"We've got a whole new system to put in. If they all show up on the 17th this year, then next year, training camp will start just nine days before the first preseason game. Hell, ordinarily, I don't believe in long camps."

When he finishes weeding out the studs from the duds, they will wear coats and ties on road trips. The whining may break windows in Camden.

"Terrific," Ryan said, rubbing his calloused hands. "I love a good fight. Ahhh, they won't complain. They might grumble in bars or in hotel rooms, but they won't squawk to me.

"I make 'em wear their chin straps buckled on the field. I make 'em touch the line when they run the ladder drill. They must put their hand on the line, not behind it, not in front of it.

"I hate a tie worse than anyone, but it's gonna be coat and tie because they're on a business trip. They represent the Eagles, they represent their parents. You can say it has nothing to do with football...but it does. It's discipline.

"I'm gonna put the older players in the front of the airplane. They'll get the first-class seats. I'll be in the back end, because that way I'll be able to see what's going on.

"Years in the league, that will decide who sits up front. And, if they matriculate, we'll move other guys up."

Matriculate? Is that the harshest word Ryan can find to describe what happens when a veteran quits or gets released? There it is, that soft, flowery side, peeking out from the cactus needles.

"It's not hard to cut a rookie," Ryan said. "But the saddest thing is to have to cut a guy who's been to the Super Bowl with you, to cut a guy who's laid it on the line.

"Bring in a guy who's been to war with you and have to say, 'Son, it's time to retire.' That's tough. Had to do it with Terry Schmidt, with Doug Buffone in Chicago.

"Had to say, 'Hey, you guys are through, you better go about your life's work.' They accept it from me. If someone else told 'em, they'd say, 'I'd better check with Buddy.' "

Mrs. Ryan names the foals, tries to use the parents in the process. Some names are spawned by current events. They've got a colt named Home Shutout because he was born on Jan. 6, smack-dab between two Chicago playoff shutouts.

They have a 2-year-old that ran at Hawthorne on Sunday named Intriped Pursuit that may simply be a garbling of "intrepid" pursuit. Spelling doesn't count, but breeding does, and Ryan can recite the pedigree of his foals through three generations.