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"A Football Guy"

Garrett Identifies With Ryan's Football Zeal

Rob Phillips
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer


RobRyan_012511_300.jpg

Rob Ryan is at the senior bowl with owner Jerry Jones and the rest of the Cowboys coaching staff.


MOBILE, Ala. - Rob Ryan hadn't been inside Valley Ranch long for his Jan. 14 interview, and Jason Garrett could already sense the prospective defensive coordinator was ready to get to work.

"He had his coat and tie on," Garrett recalled, "and I could tell early on that he couldn't wait to get that coat off and loosen that tie and get up on the board and get going."

Ryan doesn't strike you as a coat-and-tie kind of guy. He's a football guy. He grew up around the game with his father Buddy and his twin brother Rex, the Jets' lively head coach.

So did Garrett. His father, Jim, has been a respected coach and scout. His brothers John and Judd are part of the Cowboys' coaching and scouting brass, respectively.

Jason Garrett didn't have any direct ties to Rob Ryan - the two hadn't coached or played together before - but Ryan came highly recommended. And Garrett could identify with Ryan's extensive football background.

"We wanted to go through a process of interviewing some different defensive coordinators and we were going through that process and I heard so many good things about him from other people - people who have coached with him, coached against him," Garrett said. "And everybody kind of said the same thing. They said he's a football guy, grew up in a football family, loves it, is passionate about it, is a 3-4 guy.

"We had a great visit. We spent a lot of time talking about football, all aspects of it. The interview process was really good. It was fun for me to be in there, fun for our other coaches to be in there listening to him talk about football, the scheme, how he coaches players, the different experiences that he's had.

"He's an engaging guy. He's very enthusiastic about it and it's contagious."

Ryan is in Mobile for Senior Bowl week with the rest of the coaching staff, but he is not expected to meet with reporters until Garrett finalizes his entire staff.
 
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