Rex Ryan surrendered to Nashville police Wednesday morning on charges he ran over two pedestrians’ feet and fled.
The former Jets head coach, 63, was booked and released on $6,000 bond after warrants were issued for the Nov. 5 incident on Broadway, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said. Ryan is facing six misdemeanor charges: two counts each of leaving the scene of an accident, failure to give information or render aid, and failure to obey a traffic control signal.
The confrontation began when Ryan was making a right turn and struck the two pedestrians, who had the walk sign, according to police. He allegedly rolled over their feet and struck one person in the leg before driving away. When he stopped at a red light farther down the road, the victims confronted him. Ryan stepped out of his truck, argued with them, then got back in and left again, police said the victims told them.
Ryan has hired criminal defense attorney David Raybin to handle the case. During a phone call Wednesday afternoon, Raybin said his client was cooperating with investigators but had not yet received police documents.
“The only thing I can tell you right now is I just began representation this morning,” Raybin said.
“I can confirm that I’m representing him, and we are cooperating with the investigation. But I do not have any facts yet from the police side, so we’re cooperating, we’re trying to get that information today but because of the holiday, I don’t have it. So I don’t have any further statement. OK? Thank you.”
ESPN, where Ryan has worked as an analyst since 2017, issued a brief statement Wednesday acknowledging the arrest. The network said it was “aware” of the situation and had been “in touch with Rex.” Ryan has not publicly addressed the incident himself.
The arrest has drawn renewed attention to Ryan’s long-documented fixation with feet, which first became public during his Jets tenure. In 2010, Deadspin linked him to foot-fetish dating sites with profile information matching details of his wife, Michelle. Videos posted on YouTube by a user called “ihaveprettyfeet” appeared to show Michelle displaying her feet for a cameraman who sounded like Ryan.
When reporters pressed him on the revelations at a 2010 press conference, Ryan struggled briefly before responding.
“Obviously, I knew these questions were coming,” he told reporters. “But this is a personal matter and I’m not going to discuss it.”
He also said at the time: “My wife’s beautiful. We’ve been married for 23 years. She’s awesome.”
Then-Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis dismissed the controversy when asked about it.
“Foot fetish? Whatever,” Revis said. “At the end of the day, that’s his wife and he can do whatever he wants with his wife. It’s not like he’s out committing adultery or anything negative.”
Ryan has frequently joked about his foot fixation during his ESPN tenure. In 2019, while colleagues discussed a player’s toenails, he quipped, “Let’s not talk about feet.” During a 2021 segment about an Aaron Rodgers toe injury, he declared, “I’m a toe expert.” He made another toe-related crack in 2023 while commenting on a Kadarius Toney offsides call.
Before the arrest, Ryan had generated headlines for a blistering on-air attack against Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty during a Nov. 1 “Sunday NFL Countdown” appearance. After Jeanty said the Jets’ defense had players who “don’t really want to tackle,” Ryan called him “soft as Charmin” and “about the worst draft pick in the last 20 years, I think, as a running back,” adding, “You stink. You’re averaging 3.1 yards per carry.”
Ryan went 61-66 in six seasons as Jets head coach from 2009 to 2014, following a successful run as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator. He coached the Bills for two seasons before joining ESPN.
Court records show Ryan is scheduled for his first hearing in the case on Dec. 18.