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Cowboys hope Ryan's passion is contagious
Posted Monday, Jan. 17, 2011
Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett finally has his man.
After seeing three defensive coordinator candidates take jobs elsewhere, Garrett interviewed Rob Ryan and didn't let him get away.
According to multiple sources, Ryan, the former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator, has been tapped to run the Cowboys' defense.
The Cowboys interviewed Stanford coordinator Vic Fangio last Monday and then San Francisco 49ers coordinator Greg Manusky on Wednesday. But Fangio took a position with the 49ers and Manusky signed on with the San Diego Chargers.
Paul Pasqualoni, who ran the Cowboys' defense the last eight games of the season, went back to the college game as Connecticut's head coach.
And that's when the Cowboys turned to Ryan, who came in Friday for a whirlwind interview process.
And while it seems that the colorful Ryan, who is every bit the twin brother of Jets head coach Rex Ryan and son of ex-Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan, is an odd coupling with the buttoned-down, Ivy League-educated Garrett, it might be the perfect pairing.
"Every other word from Ryan is a curse word," a source said. "But he might be what they need to get the guys going and bring a fire to their defense."
Garrett preached to his players last season about playing with passion. Ryan coaches with passion, and it might be needed to jump-start a defense that was arguably the worst in Cowboys franchise history last season.
The Cowboys set team records for most yards allowed, passing yards allowed, touchdowns allowed and points allowed.
Also key to the pairing is Ryan's experience. He has been an NFL defensive coordinator for seven seasons -- with the Oakland Raiders from 2004-08 and the last two years with the Browns.
Considering that Garrett is a first-time head coach, it was important that he hire a coordinator who wasn't calling defensive plays for the first time.
Ryan -- who runs the 3-4 defense the Cowboys employ -- also has experience working with conservative, understated head coaches such as Patriots boss Bill Belichick, for whom he was linebackers coach, and Eric Mangini, his head coach in Cleveland.
The Cowboys had asked the Pittsburgh Steelers for permission to speak with secondary coach Ray Horton about the job. But Horton, a member of the Cowboys' 1992 Super Bowl title team, would not have been available for an interview until after the Steelers were out of the playoffs or the week preceding the Super Bowl.
Ryan's defense last season finished 13th in points allowed per game (20.8) and 22nd in yards allowed (350.1). Cleveland went 5-11 for the second consecutive season, leading to Mangini's dismissal.
But Ryan should have more talent to work with running a Cowboys defense -- led by Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware and Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff -- than he did in Cleveland and Oakland. The Browns had one defensive player make the Pro Bowl the past two years combined.
Ryan, 48, played college football at Southwestern Oklahoma State and landed his first pro job when he joined his father's Arizona Cardinals staff as defensive backs coach.
His hire in Dallas sets up another Ryan bowl next season as the Cowboys are scheduled to play the Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium.
Ryan's Browns lost 26-20 on Nov. 14 to his brother's Jets in overtime. Before the game, the brothers made fun of each other's diets and wardrobes and took amusing jabs at each other.
Ryan's record as a defensive coordinator
Year
Team
Def. rank
Rush rank
Pass rank
Pts.
2004
Raiders
30th
22nd
30th
31st
2005
Raiders
27th
25th
18th
25th
2006
Raiders
3rd
25th
1st
18th
2007
Raiders
22nd
31st
8th
26th
2008
Raiders
27th
31st
10th
24th
2009
Browns
31st
28th
29th
21st
2010
Browns
22nd
27th
18th
13th
Clarence E. Hill Jr.
817-390-7760
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/01/17/2773275/cowboys-hope-ryans-passion-is.html##ixzz1BIYN4eIz
Posted Monday, Jan. 17, 2011
Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett finally has his man.
After seeing three defensive coordinator candidates take jobs elsewhere, Garrett interviewed Rob Ryan and didn't let him get away.
According to multiple sources, Ryan, the former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator, has been tapped to run the Cowboys' defense.
The Cowboys interviewed Stanford coordinator Vic Fangio last Monday and then San Francisco 49ers coordinator Greg Manusky on Wednesday. But Fangio took a position with the 49ers and Manusky signed on with the San Diego Chargers.
Paul Pasqualoni, who ran the Cowboys' defense the last eight games of the season, went back to the college game as Connecticut's head coach.
And that's when the Cowboys turned to Ryan, who came in Friday for a whirlwind interview process.
And while it seems that the colorful Ryan, who is every bit the twin brother of Jets head coach Rex Ryan and son of ex-Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan, is an odd coupling with the buttoned-down, Ivy League-educated Garrett, it might be the perfect pairing.
"Every other word from Ryan is a curse word," a source said. "But he might be what they need to get the guys going and bring a fire to their defense."
Garrett preached to his players last season about playing with passion. Ryan coaches with passion, and it might be needed to jump-start a defense that was arguably the worst in Cowboys franchise history last season.
The Cowboys set team records for most yards allowed, passing yards allowed, touchdowns allowed and points allowed.
Also key to the pairing is Ryan's experience. He has been an NFL defensive coordinator for seven seasons -- with the Oakland Raiders from 2004-08 and the last two years with the Browns.
Considering that Garrett is a first-time head coach, it was important that he hire a coordinator who wasn't calling defensive plays for the first time.
Ryan -- who runs the 3-4 defense the Cowboys employ -- also has experience working with conservative, understated head coaches such as Patriots boss Bill Belichick, for whom he was linebackers coach, and Eric Mangini, his head coach in Cleveland.
The Cowboys had asked the Pittsburgh Steelers for permission to speak with secondary coach Ray Horton about the job. But Horton, a member of the Cowboys' 1992 Super Bowl title team, would not have been available for an interview until after the Steelers were out of the playoffs or the week preceding the Super Bowl.
Ryan's defense last season finished 13th in points allowed per game (20.8) and 22nd in yards allowed (350.1). Cleveland went 5-11 for the second consecutive season, leading to Mangini's dismissal.
But Ryan should have more talent to work with running a Cowboys defense -- led by Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware and Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff -- than he did in Cleveland and Oakland. The Browns had one defensive player make the Pro Bowl the past two years combined.
Ryan, 48, played college football at Southwestern Oklahoma State and landed his first pro job when he joined his father's Arizona Cardinals staff as defensive backs coach.
His hire in Dallas sets up another Ryan bowl next season as the Cowboys are scheduled to play the Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium.
Ryan's Browns lost 26-20 on Nov. 14 to his brother's Jets in overtime. Before the game, the brothers made fun of each other's diets and wardrobes and took amusing jabs at each other.
Ryan's record as a defensive coordinator
Year
Team
Def. rank
Rush rank
Pass rank
Pts.
2004
Raiders
30th
22nd
30th
31st
2005
Raiders
27th
25th
18th
25th
2006
Raiders
3rd
25th
1st
18th
2007
Raiders
22nd
31st
8th
26th
2008
Raiders
27th
31st
10th
24th
2009
Browns
31st
28th
29th
21st
2010
Browns
22nd
27th
18th
13th
Clarence E. Hill Jr.
817-390-7760
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/01/17/2773275/cowboys-hope-ryans-passion-is.html##ixzz1BIYN4eIz