Mario Williams Wants To Leave Buffalo Bills?

Mario Williams is not happy, and he wants to leave the Buffalo Bills after this season is over, according to NFL.com.

Rex Ryan is widely considered one of the smartest defensive minds in the NFL. He and his twin brother, Rob Ryan, learned a lot from their father, Buddy Ryan, the defensive coordinator for the 1985 Chicago Bears team that dominated the league and captured the Super Bowl.

Being a defensive guru is the reason why Rex Ryan was able to last so long with the New York Jets. It is also the reason why the Buffalo Bills were willing to hire him almost immediately after being let go by the Jets.

With that in mind, the Buffalo Bills wholeheartedly believed that Rex Ryan would be able to produce a dominant defense, especially with the amazing talent that was already on the defensive line. Instead of being ranked in the top 10, where they were projected to be, the Bills are ranked 18th in the NFL on defense.

On Sunday, the Buffalo Bills had their season on the line in a game against Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins. Both teams needed a victory if they wanted to keep their chances alive in the race to the NFL Playoffs. After it was all said and done, Cousins was the hero, and the Redskins remain alive in a weak NFC East division.

Frustration has been boiling all season long, and it erupted like a volcano after the season was essentially ended for the Buffalo Bills today. While speaking to the media after the game, Mario Williams, who is normally one of the best defensive ends in the NFL, spoke out against Rex Ryan.

While Mario Williams initially criticized the constant substitution of defensive players, he eventually got down to his biggest issue. The former North Carolina State University Wolfpack star reiterated his disdain of the defensive scheme that Rex Ryan utilizes.

When he played for the Houston Texans, Mario Williams was allowed to be as aggressive as possible as a pass rusher. When Jim Schwartz was the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, he allowed Williams to have the same freedom.

Rex Ryan likes to use defensive schemes that confuse opposing quarterbacks with exotic coverage packages. To do that, he will oftentimes have his gigantic defensive linemen drop back into coverage, something that Mario Williams and his teammates hate to do because they feel that it reduces their aggressiveness.

In the defensive scheme that Buddy Ryan likes to utilize, Mario Williams is utilized as a five technique defensive end, which means that he lines up on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackles. Gifted with incredible speed, Williams prefers playing further out than that, sometimes as far out as a traditional outside linebacker.

Since Rex Ryan is unlikely to make drastic changes to his defensive schemes, Mario Williams wants to find another NFL team that will allow him to be the pass rusher that he knows he can be. Since he is 30-years-old and has a $12.9 million salary, the Buffalo Bills might allow him to walk away after the season.

If Mario Williams is really intent on leaving the Buffalo Bills, then there will be options for him in the NFL. Every coach in the league loves guys who can attack the quarterback.

The St. Louis Rams would be an interesting destination if Mario Williams were willing to take a pay cut. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams allows Chris Long, Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, Robert Quinn, and Nick Fairley to be aggressive on defense, and Williams would make an already dominant unit even better.

[Featured Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images]