AP

The Rex and Rob Ryan reunion in Buffalo promises to be compelling, for many reasons. One of those reasons is this: They’re mad.

Appearing Friday on WGR 550 in Buffalo, Rex Ryan made it clear that they are aware of the criticism, and they don’t like it.

“I can tell you this: our family is taking it personal,” Ryan said, via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. “I think it’s hilarious. I look at it, I just say, ‘Look at the background and see what happens. Someone’s gonna be right and I know who that somebody is.”

The Saints fired Rob in the midst of a disastrous 2015 season, his second straight poor performance in New Orleans after a strong debut in 2013. Rex brought plenty of criticism on himself in his first year with the Bills, after guaranteeing a playoff berth and aiming for the top-ranked defense and having the team underachieve on both counts.

To make matters worse, multiple Bills defensive players complained openly about Rex’s schemes throughout the year, which speaks to a fundamental failure to communicate with players and an inability to control them.

And so Rex and Rob apparently will seize upon the time-honored strategy of finding motivation in people noticing their past shortcomings. Whether or not they like the criticism, it’s impossible to call the criticism unfair.