Rob Ryan calls his last two years in New Orleans a ‘waste of time’
You knew when Rob and Rex Ryan reunited on the sideline in Buffalo this year that there’d be some saltiness thrown in all directions. It has begun, with Rob cutting loose on his former employer in The MMQB.
Rob Ryan served as defensive coordinator in New Orleans for parts of three seasons before he was fired 10 games into the 2015 season. And, according to Ryan, only one of those three years reflects the kind of coach he is.
“There are two years that don’t have my signature on them, and it’s the last two years in New Orleans,” Ryan said. “And that’s just the truth.”
Ryan took over in 2013 for a team that had ranked last in yards allowed and immediately vaulted the Saints to fourth in that category. The team went 11-5 and reached the playoffs. But in 2014 and 2015, the team sank back down into the cellar, ranking 31st in points allowed both years.
“Everyone wants to run Seattle’s defense,” Ryan told The MMQB. “They should have hired a Seattle coach. I did the best job I could. Under the circumstances, trust me, I did the best job I could. I’ll be better anywhere else. I’ll be great anywhere else. But it was unfortunate.”
Cherry-picking? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Ryan had his hand on the back of head coach Sean Payton, but didn’t quite push him under the bus: “I advanced the [overall game] plan to the best of my ability. All of a sudden, we let some good players go; we changed the system after we finished fourth in the league in defense. I don’t know, it just seems strange to me,” Ryan said. “But at the end of the day, the last two years in New Orleans were a waste of time for me.”
So, yeah, not exactly the kind of exit interview you want to see from an employee, but hey, when your brother is offering you a job, who cares if you burn a bridge or two? “I was hired to be in a multiple system in New Orleans, and I did a damn good job and got fired for it,” Ryan said. “I’m more hungry now than I have ever been. So I wanted to go with the right guy. And the right guy is someone I have 100 percent trust in and 100 percent faith in.”
Payton responded on PFT Live Friday morning to Ryan’s quotes, saying, “The idea that it wasn’t his defense, or he wasn’t in charge of it, is silly.” Payton gave his own version of events, which differed a touch from Ryan’s: “When you’re struggling as bad as we’re struggling for two years, and some of the same problems keep coming up—you know, 10 guys on the field—those are things you can’t live with,” he said.
Buffalo isn’t scheduled to play New Orleans until 2017, which is more than enough time for emotions to cool … or to simmer. Either way, the NFL is always better with more Ryan brothers in it.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
