The NFL lost one of its all-time great characters Tuesday when Buddy Ryan died at 85.

Ryan is famous for many things. He was the mastermind behind the 1985 Chicago Bears' legendary defense. He was the Eagles' beloved head coach, and also spent a stint as the Arizona Cardinals' head coach. He is the father of former Jets/current Bills head coach Rex Ryan and current Bills assistant Rob Ryan.

And, Buddy Ryan, angered by a play call, punched former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride during a 1993 game against the Jets when both were serving as coordinators for the Houston Oilers. The video above captures one of the uglier scenes in league history, and one that will be mentioned a great deal with Ryan's death.

Gilbride, who went on to help the Giants win two Super Bowls, remained the bigger man years after the incident, as sports columnist Steve Politi examined in a 2011 column about the incident.

"The last thing you'd like to be is stained with an incident that you're sorry it happened," Gilbride said. "But the rapport I had with the father was nonexistent from the beginning.

"When (the punch) happened, I was shocked by the whole thing. You try to hold your poise and your self-control. It's not always easy, but fortunately some guys grabbed me right away -- or who knows what might have happened."

The late Jack Pardee, who was the Oilers' head coach in 1993, told Politi in 2011 that Gilbride was not at fault.

"Buddy was always an idiot," Pardee said. "He put some good teams together -- actually, he put some good defenses together -- but he wasn't a good team coach. He was always one of those coaches who put guys against each other.

"What happened wasn't Kevin's fault -- he handled it well. He just didn't want to be pushed around. Who could blame him for that? Buddy wasn't the only one who was going to stand his ground."

James Kratch can be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find and like NJ.com Giants on Facebook.