Rex Ryan was arrested in Nashville on Wednesday after police say his pickup truck ran over the feet of two pedestrians on Broadway last week and he drove away. The former Jets and Bills head coach, now an analyst on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, turned himself in on six misdemeanor warrants, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Ryan, 63, faces two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of failure to give information or render aid, and two counts of failure to obey a traffic control signal. His bond was set at $6,000, NewsChannel 5 Nashville reported. Ryan has not made a public statement, and no attorney has spoken for him so far.
No, it's not April Fool's Day. Rex Ryan has been arrested in Nashville after allegedly running over the feet of two pedestrians with his pickup truck. https://t.co/KTasUDYc2o
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 11, 2026
What Nashville police say happened on Broadway
The incident took place shortly before midnight on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 4th Avenue and Broadway, the downtown strip lined with bars and music venues. Per MNPD, two people were crossing Broadway with a walk signal when a pickup truck turned right off 4th Avenue, rolled over both of their feet and made contact with one person’s leg.
Police said the truck kept going but stopped at the red light at Broadway and Rep. John Lewis Way. The two pedestrians caught up and waved the driver down. They told officers the driver got out, argued with them, then climbed back into the truck and left without exchanging information.
Before he pulled away, the pair photographed the driver and the license plate. Investigators later confirmed the truck is registered to Ryan, WKRN reported. Both pedestrians had minor injuries, according to WSMV.
Warrants were issued, and Ryan surrendered to police Wednesday morning. Nashville has been his home since around 2014.
The charges, one by one
| Charge | Counts |
|---|---|
| Leaving the scene of an accident | 2 |
| Failure to give information / render aid | 2 |
| Failure to obey a traffic control signal | 2 |
All six are misdemeanors. Each count is tied to one of the two pedestrians, which is why every charge appears twice.
ESPN’s response and Ryan’s TV role
ESPN has kept its comments short. The network said only that it is “aware and are in touch with Rex,” a statement first given to Front Office Sports. There has been no word on whether Ryan will appear on Sunday’s show.
That question matters because Ryan is a fixture of ESPN’s Sunday mornings. Sunday NFL Countdown returned this fall with Mike Greenberg hosting alongside Ryan, Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss and Alex Smith. Ryan joined ESPN after the Bills fired him, and he has spent close to a decade in the studio, also appearing regularly on Get Up during football season.
His TV run had picked up a new twist this year. Front Office Sports reported growing chatter that Ryan could leave the studio for a return to an NFL sideline, with Giants coach John Harbaugh, his old Ravens colleague, publicly warming to the idea of bringing him in as a defensive coordinator. Any such move would come after the season, and how this case plays out may now shape that conversation.
Ryan’s two old teams meet this Sunday
The timing is awkward for a coach whose career is tied to two AFC East rivals. Ryan coached the Jets from 2009 to 2014, reaching back-to-back AFC Championship Games in his first two seasons, then spent 2015 and 2016 in Buffalo. In all, he spent eight years as an NFL head coach.
Those two franchises collide in Week 10. The 7-1 Bills face a Jets team that is still digging out of a rough first half. Our Bills vs. Jets preview breaks down Christian Benford’s injury and Buffalo’s offensive line problems, while New York is coming off a 35-12 loss in Kansas City and dealt with Will McDonald’s trade request ahead of the deadline. For where both clubs stand at the halfway point, see our 2026 NFL midseason report.
What happens next
The case now moves to the Davidson County courts. No court date had been reported as of Wednesday afternoon. Ryan is presumed innocent, and the account above comes from police and the two pedestrians.
The nearer question is ESPN’s Sunday lineup. Sunday NFL Countdown airs ahead of the early Week 10 kickoffs, and whether Ryan is on set should be the first public sign of how the network is handling the case.
Sources: ProFootballTalk, NewsChannel 5, WSMV, WKRN, TMZ, LiveNOW from FOX, Barrett Media, Awful Announcing, Front Office Sports, Laughing Place
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