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Red Robin
Ellis: No Reason Garrett-Ryan Partnership Can't Work
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
In six seasons as an NFL defensive coordinator, Ryan has worked under six different head coaches.
IRVING, Texas - There are probably a couple of reasons why people are already wondering whether Jason Garrett can get along with Rob Ryan, his choice for defensive coordinator, even if it currently remains to be seen whether anyone at the NFL offices in New York has been by the fax machine to verify the contracts.
It's easy to see a difference in the two of them based on the way they present themselves. No newspapers are compiling Garrett's top 10 quotes of the year, as the Cleveland Plain-Dealer did with Ryan toward the end of 2010. Indeed, the outward appearance the two coaches give off couldn't be much different.
Garrett is this squeaky-clean football nerd who appears to have been studying and preparing his entire life to get this opportunity, while Ryan is the son of a head coach and the brother of a head coach, who is about to have his seventh different boss in eight years.
The head coach seems to be measuring every word that comes out of his mouth when he speaks to the media. He's got his talking points about "stacking good days together" and presentation is obviously a concern. Ryan, meanwhile, is sort of the loudmouth with a beer belly who doesn't care what anyone thinks about him. The two have such different personalities that it's impossible not to see this as an odd-couple kind of partnership.
Of course, Ryan has worked under Bill Belichick and Norv Turner, two guys who give off similar all-business vibes as Garrett, and the constant change above him should have Ryan prepared to work for just about anyone. That's what suggests the concern that has been voiced about their ability to get along is a classic bit of fear mongering. Are there ever headlines speculating about the viability of the relationship between Buffalo's head coach and his staff, or Jacksonville's head coach and his staff? No, these are the Dallas Cowboys, so people tend to worry about every little detail.
But just bear in mind, Garrett is a bright guy, and he just spent three-and-a-half of the last four years working in an organization that was essentially divided down the middle between offense and defense. If Garrett perceived any level of discomfort in his relationship with Wade Phillips because of the autonomy-by-separation they shared, he'll be sure to nip it in the bud with this hire. It doesn't seem that Garrett is interested in being the head coach of the offense and letting Ryan be head coach of the defense. He'll continue to sit in on defensive meetings and probably do a little bit of the game-planning on that side of the ball to make sure that the strategies of offense and defense complement one another.
By doing all that, Garrett makes sure everyone knows who's boss. When leadership is strong, the people beneath will start to follow. Especially if things start to go right next season, the message of the players and all the coaches will really echo Garrett. Now, that's not to say that Ryan will become dry and boring when a camera is in his face, but rather that there's no reason to believe he'll say or do anything to try to hijack the team. If anyone believes that sort of subversion isn't possible, it has happened around here previously between a head coach and a coordinator not named Phillips and Garrett.
Now, what we know publicly of the relationship may be completely different than what goes on behind closed doors, but unless something happens to drive a wedge between the two, there's no reason Garrett and Ryan won't have a totally amicable relationship. A coach on last year's staff, one with a very different personality from Garrett, described the then-interim boss as both a player's coach and a coach's coach because of his interest in doing everything he can to help the people working for him.
According to other behind-the-scenes stories, Garrett sounds more like a fiery guy in the locker room than any of us realized when he took over. Ryan may be a lot like him, only in a see-through package.
Ultimately, this could be the most important hire of Garrett's career, so he's sure to do everything in his power to get it just right. After the press conference announcing his promotion, Jerry Jones bragged about Garrett's wisdom in the decision-making process. He must have weighed every consideration before picking a coordinator, including whether or not he could get along with the guy, before settling on Ryan. Note the patience Garrett showed, also, in naming a coordinator. While guys he had already interviewed like Vic Fangio and Greg Manusky were being snapped up, Garrett apparently was waiting for a head coach to be chosen in Cleveland to let Ryan know his fate. When Pat Shurmer was hired by the Browns, Ryan became free to look for a new job, and Garrett made the call.
If this was the guy Garrett wanted all along, he'll do everything he can to make it work.
Ellis: No Reason Garrett-Ryan Partnership Can't Work
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
In six seasons as an NFL defensive coordinator, Ryan has worked under six different head coaches.
IRVING, Texas - There are probably a couple of reasons why people are already wondering whether Jason Garrett can get along with Rob Ryan, his choice for defensive coordinator, even if it currently remains to be seen whether anyone at the NFL offices in New York has been by the fax machine to verify the contracts.
It's easy to see a difference in the two of them based on the way they present themselves. No newspapers are compiling Garrett's top 10 quotes of the year, as the Cleveland Plain-Dealer did with Ryan toward the end of 2010. Indeed, the outward appearance the two coaches give off couldn't be much different.
Garrett is this squeaky-clean football nerd who appears to have been studying and preparing his entire life to get this opportunity, while Ryan is the son of a head coach and the brother of a head coach, who is about to have his seventh different boss in eight years.
The head coach seems to be measuring every word that comes out of his mouth when he speaks to the media. He's got his talking points about "stacking good days together" and presentation is obviously a concern. Ryan, meanwhile, is sort of the loudmouth with a beer belly who doesn't care what anyone thinks about him. The two have such different personalities that it's impossible not to see this as an odd-couple kind of partnership.
Of course, Ryan has worked under Bill Belichick and Norv Turner, two guys who give off similar all-business vibes as Garrett, and the constant change above him should have Ryan prepared to work for just about anyone. That's what suggests the concern that has been voiced about their ability to get along is a classic bit of fear mongering. Are there ever headlines speculating about the viability of the relationship between Buffalo's head coach and his staff, or Jacksonville's head coach and his staff? No, these are the Dallas Cowboys, so people tend to worry about every little detail.
But just bear in mind, Garrett is a bright guy, and he just spent three-and-a-half of the last four years working in an organization that was essentially divided down the middle between offense and defense. If Garrett perceived any level of discomfort in his relationship with Wade Phillips because of the autonomy-by-separation they shared, he'll be sure to nip it in the bud with this hire. It doesn't seem that Garrett is interested in being the head coach of the offense and letting Ryan be head coach of the defense. He'll continue to sit in on defensive meetings and probably do a little bit of the game-planning on that side of the ball to make sure that the strategies of offense and defense complement one another.
By doing all that, Garrett makes sure everyone knows who's boss. When leadership is strong, the people beneath will start to follow. Especially if things start to go right next season, the message of the players and all the coaches will really echo Garrett. Now, that's not to say that Ryan will become dry and boring when a camera is in his face, but rather that there's no reason to believe he'll say or do anything to try to hijack the team. If anyone believes that sort of subversion isn't possible, it has happened around here previously between a head coach and a coordinator not named Phillips and Garrett.
Now, what we know publicly of the relationship may be completely different than what goes on behind closed doors, but unless something happens to drive a wedge between the two, there's no reason Garrett and Ryan won't have a totally amicable relationship. A coach on last year's staff, one with a very different personality from Garrett, described the then-interim boss as both a player's coach and a coach's coach because of his interest in doing everything he can to help the people working for him.
According to other behind-the-scenes stories, Garrett sounds more like a fiery guy in the locker room than any of us realized when he took over. Ryan may be a lot like him, only in a see-through package.
Ultimately, this could be the most important hire of Garrett's career, so he's sure to do everything in his power to get it just right. After the press conference announcing his promotion, Jerry Jones bragged about Garrett's wisdom in the decision-making process. He must have weighed every consideration before picking a coordinator, including whether or not he could get along with the guy, before settling on Ryan. Note the patience Garrett showed, also, in naming a coordinator. While guys he had already interviewed like Vic Fangio and Greg Manusky were being snapped up, Garrett apparently was waiting for a head coach to be chosen in Cleveland to let Ryan know his fate. When Pat Shurmer was hired by the Browns, Ryan became free to look for a new job, and Garrett made the call.
If this was the guy Garrett wanted all along, he'll do everything he can to make it work.