Buffalo Bills

Bills' Darby excited to learn from Ed Reed, one of his 'favorite players'

Published Feb. 1, 2016 2:59 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

The transition from player to coach typically takes some time, if it even happens at all. For Ed Reed, that jump was just two years.

Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills are the main reason why the shift was so short, taking a chance on the future Hall of Famer. Ryan hired Reed as an assistant defensive backs coach a few weeks ago, and his players are already excited about learning from someone they likely looked up to.

Rookie cornerback Ronald Darby is among them, calling Reed one of his favorite players.

Via BuffaloBills.com:

“Ed Reed-great player, a Hall of Fame type player,” Darby said. “A guy I looked up to. One of my favorite players. This is going to be great learning from him.”

One of the main issues the Bills had last season was the unfamiliarity with Ryan's scheme. Several players were unhappy with the way they were utilized -- most notably Mario Williams -- which Ryan hopes to fix next season. Darby believes Reed will help with that, having played for Ryan for numerous years.

“We’ll have a lot of time to practice and get right for it,” he said.