Sean Payton disputes report that Saints have fired embattled Rob Ryan
ADSENSE HERE
Apparently, lettingKirk Cousinstear
you up for 324 yards, four touchdowns and no picks is enough to finally
get the coordinator of the league's worst defense fired. According to a
report from FOX Sports' Alex Marvez, theSaintswill fire embattled defensive coordinator Rob Ryan after their latest atrocity.
"Firing" is the operative word here, because Saints coach Sean Payton said Monday that Ryan is still his defensive coordinator.
Firing
or fired, either way, it looks like Ryan -- whose defense has been
shredded this season -- will be looking for a job soon enough. It In
addition to Cousins' monster performance, Ryan's Saints allowed huge
games toCarson Palmer(307 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT),Cam Newton(312 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 33 rush yards, 1 TD),Sam Bradford(333 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT),Eli Manning(350 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT), andMarcus Mariota(371 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT).
They
head into their Week 11 bye last in the league in both total yards
(30th in passing yards and 29th in rushing yards) and points allowed per
game, and before being torn up by Cousins, they were already last in
Football Outsiders' Defensive DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average,
which adjusts team performance for down, distance, and opponent) as
well.
This is really nothing new for a Ryan-led defense. He has
been a coordinator since 2004, spending time with the Raiders
(2004-2008), Browns (2009-2010), Cowboys (2011-2012), and Saints
(2013-2015). The following chart shows his team's league-wide ranks in
yards per game, points per game, and DVOA, yearly and on average.
ROB RYAN DEFENSES
YEAR
YDS/GM
PTS/GM
DVOA
2004
30
31
26
2005
27
25
20
2006
3
18
8
2007
22
26
22
2008
27
24
19
2009
31
21
30
2010
22
13
18
2011
14
16
16
2012
19
24
23
2013
4
4
10
2014
31
28
31
2015
32
32
32
AVG
21.8
21.8
21.3
Over
a period of 12 years, Rob Ryan has consistently coordinated defenses
ranking in the bottom third of the league. He's had a defense that
ranked in the top 10 in both yards and points per game allowed exactly
once, and his units have made just two appearances in the top 10 in
DVOA, with no top-five showings. Even if his defenses have shown
improvement at some point, they have reliably fallen back toward the
bottom of the league before long.
It is difficult to find
reasonable justification for anyone to hire him in the same position at
this point, but he is the son of Buddy Ryan and the brother of Rex Ryan,
so somebody probably will. Rob Ryan is reportedly out in New Orleans.(USATSI)
