Upon becoming the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Rex Ryan told a real estate agent to find him local housing, “wherever [the] snow dumps the most.” Then he got a big Ford pickup with oversized tires and a customized Bills paint job to prove the point. A photo of that truck was the one that welcomed Ryan’s heralded arrival in Western New York.

Soon we’ll reportedly see his departure, as ESPN says he’ll “probably” be fired after the season and that Ryan is “aware of the situation.”

Here’s guessing if/when that happens, social media will explode with that oddball picture of Rex and his twin brother Rob riding on a two-man bicycle.

It’s a funny photo. Everyone will laugh – laugh not just because of the absurdity of the scene but to laugh at Rex Ryan because he’s somehow become a joke these days, an example of big talk, little action that football finds worthy of scorn. There is nothing the NFL likes more than to snuff out the non-conformist.

Ryan’s Bills are 7-7. They host Miami before wrapping up at the New York Jets. A 9-7 record isn’t out of the question and 8-8 feels likely. Last year, his first in Buffalo, they went 8-8.

Apparently in Buffalo they see a roster that should be dramatically better than that, worthy of dumping Ryan for underachieving. Ryan isn’t denying reality.

“I don’t know what my future holds,” Ryan said after the Bills beat Cleveland on Sunday. “I just know that I’m going to get this team ready to play on Saturday, on Christmas Eve. And I’m excited about that.”

View photos Rex Ryan is 15-15 in two seasons in Buffalo. (Getty Images) More

This isn’t a column saying Ryan deserves to keep his job. After more than a decade and a half without making the playoffs, Bills fans deserve better than apologies for .500 football. It’s not like the team is showing a lot of promise. And this certainly isn’t a column signaling that Canton should get ready for Rex Ryan’s enshrinement speech. He hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2010 with the Jets.

He is what his record says he is.

Yet, isn’t it worth noting – even if this isn’t some full-throttle defense of the guy – that Rex Ryan’s record says he isn’t that bad of a coach. All things considered, he’s all right, certainly better than perception. He’s 61-65 overall, but that is dragged down by his final, doomed-to-fail 4-12 season with the Jets.

Go consider the rest of his peers. It’s not exactly like there’s an overabundance of sideline geniuses out there.

Look, Ryan talks a lot. He jokes a lot. He likes to be the center of attention, sometimes because it takes pressure off his team and sometimes because that’s just his nature. The bold words and actions through the years earned him more publicity than he deserved. The backlash comes when he isn’t winning enough. His antics back up the perception that he runs a loose ship.

What’s strange is the speed in which the Bills apparently want him gone – the team hasn’t even been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet. Not to mention the joy that seems to come from seeing Ryan “fail”.

Fans rail against the “No Fun League” but having Ryan ridiculed serves as a lesson for a generation of coaches to stick to the conservative script of mumbling clichés and injury reports. That does a lot more to dull down the sport than throwing a flag when a guy jumps into a giant Salvation Army bucket.

Yes, Ryan put a bull’s-eye on his back. Once, when the Jets were going to play Cleveland, Rex attended a press conference dressed up like Rob, then the Browns defensive coordinator, and proceeded to make fun of his brother. Another time in Buffalo he got on a media teleconference, pretended to be “Walt Patalski of the Buffalo News”, and asked New England’s Julian Edelman if he was going to play quarterback while Tom Brady was suspended.

This violated the coaching cardinal rule of taking yourself and the game of football too seriously. In some places he was mocked for both. Shame on him, apparently.

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