Buddy Ryan facing another cancer battle

Buddy Ryan hasn't coached in Philadelphia since 1990 yet he still has enormous cachet around here. The former Eagles coach, blustery and wisecracking, captured the heart and soul of the fan base like few have during his 5 years here.

Ryan will be in the collective mind of those Eagles fans as he deals with another bout of cancer. His son, Rex, told the New York Daily News yesterday that Buddy was diagnosed "a couple of weeks ago."

Rex Ryan did not say what kind of cancer his father has.

"He's 80 years old, but he's doing great. He's tougher than bleep," Ryan, the New York Jets head coach, said of his father, who actually turned 77 last month. "He's had other things in his life. He overcame encephalitis. He's overcome cancer twice. He's tough."

Ryan twice survived melanoma, a deadly but curable form of skin cancer. Rex said this diagnosis was not melanoma.

"It's something else. I'm not going to get into it," Rex told the newspaper. "He's a tough old guy. He's getting a second opinion. He should be all right."

Former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick, who played for Ryan, said when he heard the diagnosis: "Wow, that's heavy. Old age catches up to all of us. That cancer is a mean thing."

Quick, the Eagles' radio analyst, said when he last saw Ryan a few years ago, it was apparent his old coach had "slowed down a bit."

"It's going to take more than this to get rid of him," Rex Ryan told the newspaper. "That's what he always says." *