Saints’ Sean Payton can make Rob Ryan his scapegoat if he wants to
Our Sunday suspicions haven’t yet turned into Monday reality. But despite what Sean Payton said about Rob Ryan, there’s an endgame for the New Orleans Saints head coach where Ryan isn’t in the picture.
We wrote after the Saints’ 47-14 loss to the Washington Redskins — a team that had not scored that many points in a decade — that things were looking grim for Ryan, the Saints’ defensive coordinator, and Fox Sports reported that Ryan was relieved of his duties.
Payton denied the report on Monday, saying that Ryan “absolutely” was still a part of the team’s coaching staff. But that’s a semantic approach; it’s unlikely that Ryan will be calling the shots for this defense after the team’s Week 11 bye. A move still very much could be forthcoming.
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It’s not stunning. For a few reasons.
For one, Ryan’s unit is on pace to be one of the worst statistical pass defenses in league history. That’s not a good look. If anything, the defense has gotten worse since the start of the season as several young players have worked their way into the rotation but failed to make the unit better. The Saints have lost to two rookie quarterbacks, and on Sunday Kirk Cousins had a career type of day against them.
But this potential move would be more than just about Ryan himself. Yes, the Saints had gotten themselves back into the playoff race with the dramatic win over the New York Giants in Week 8, moving to 4-3. The past two losses haven’t removed them from contention, but there are a number of teams they’d have to leapfrog — not easy with this defense — to get in.
This would be more about head coach Sean Payton. He and Ryan have not seen eye to eye in recent seasons, which has been roundly documented. Payton gave Ryan another shot this offseason, and it hasn’t resulted in good play. Of course, you could say that the Saints need better talen on that side of the ball, and some of the front office’s bloated contracts have turned out to bite them in the behind, as well as some missed draft picks.
But Payton would be playing chess if he makes this transaction, and he’s setting up his own personal defense for three or four moves down the line. By putting this on Ryan’s head, Payton ostensibly would look better with a scapegoat in hand. And this is not as much about appearances with the Saints as it would be among the rest of the league.
The worst-kept secret in the NFL is that the Saints would be willing to let Payton get out of his contract and walk after the season, with perhaps multiple teams willing to bid for his services. Miami Dolphins? Indianapolis Colts? There might be others.
So Payton can fire Ryan, a coach he never much cared for, and — we’re guessing here — promote his good buddy Dennis Allen, doing him a solid in terms of exposure, as Ryan’s replacement. And Payton comes out of this looking cleaner, even if his judgment and coaching ability have to be questioned equally. The bombastic Ryan is the perfect scapegoat: he’s known, he’s visible, he has a famous last name and he was highly expendible. It made too much sense.
Firing Ryan won’t save the Saints’ season in and of itself. But it could save Payton’s chances of landing elsewhere last season and give him a ready-made excuse when he goes to answer questions about his teams’ struggles the past two seasons.
It was Ryan’s fault!
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
