Meet the New Redskins’ Inside Linebackers Coach
June 20, 2019
by Steve Thomas
Lost in the midst of the excitement of free agency, the draft, the arrival of new franchise quarterback Dwayne Haskins, and the start of OTAs (organized team activities, for those not aware) was the hiring of Mr. Sexy himself, Rob Ryan, the longtime NFL coach and infamously outsized personality, as the new inside linebackers coach, replacing the departed Kirk Olivadotti, whose contract expired at the end of the 2018 season. Ryan’s reputation precedes him a bit, but is it possible that he can make a legitimate difference in the development of this position group? Let’s dive into his background and see what we can find out.
The first thing you should do is listen to the interview that Ryan did with Brian Mitchell and Scott Linn on The Team 980 during Super Bowl week shortly after his hiring, published to YouTube on February 2, 2019:
(credit to The Team 980)
Of note in the interview (which is only 8 minutes long, so you can get through it, I promise), Ryan mentions that he interviewed for this position two years ago, and says that he’s here to follow and implement the plan of defensive coordinator Greg Manusky. He says all the right things in this interview and shows a bit of that famous Ryan personality in the process.
If you have some more time, ESPN’s outstanding E60 series did a 16 minute profile of Ryan back in 2014:
(credit to ESPN)
If you get anything from these two interviews, it should be that Ryan, like his dad Buddy, the former defensive coordinator of the legendary 1985 Bears team and former head coach of both the Eagles and the Cardinals who died in 2016, as well as his fraternal twin brother Rex (the defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Ravens in 2000 and the former head coach of both the Jets and the Bills), is extremely blunt and outspoken. For example, in the ESPN interview, Ryan says that Cowboys owner had people around him in the Cowboys front office who weren’t truthful. We’ve interviewed lots of players and others in the pro football industry here on The Hog Sty, and trust me when I say that’s not the kind of thing NFL coaches normally say. Both of these interviews are worth your time.
Ryan’s football background goes back to his days as a defensive end at Southwestern Oklahoma St. He did not have an NFL future as a player, so he began his coaching career at Western Kentucky University in 1987, followed by stints at Ohio St. and Western Kentucky before getting his first NFL job with his father’s Arizona Cardinals in 1994. Rob served as the defensive backs coach for two seasons. The entire staff was fired in 1995, but while he was at Arizona, Ryan coached hall of fame defensive back Aeneas Williams and propelled the 1994 team to #3 in the league in total yards surrendered and #4 in passing yards.
After Arizona, Ryan went back to college ball for several years, with stints as the defensive coordinator at Hutchinson Community College and Oklahoma St. He was then hired by Bill Belichick in 2000 to be the Patriots’ linebackers coach. Ryan stayed with New England for 3 years, winning two Super Bowls and coaching such NFL luminaries as Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest, Mike Vrabel, and Roman Phifer. The 2000 Patriots were not successful, going 5 – 11, and the defense was mediocre, ranked #17 in points surrendered, #20 in total yards surrendered, #21 in passing yards surrendered, and #21 in rushing yards surrendered. They did win the Super Bowl in 2001 and 2003, but the 2003 team was the only one that put up high-end defensive numbers: #1 in points surrendered, #7 in total yards surrendered, #4 in rushing yards surrendered, and #6 in rushing yards per attempt surrendered.
On the strength of his success with the Patriots, Ryan was hired by former Redskins head coach Norv Turner to become the defensive coordinator of Turner’s Raiders in 2004, where he stayed for 5 seasons, through 2008. Ryan’s reign began inauspiciously, with the Raiders ranked 30th or 31st in many of the major defensive categories: points, total yards, passing yards, sacks, and interceptions. The rushing defense was slightly better, at 22nd in the league, but still a bottom-tier result. Under Ryan’s guidance, the situation improved, though, with the high-water mark being the 2006 season, with Oakland ranked #3 in total yards and #1 in passing yards. During his years with the Raiders, Ryan coached NFL stars like Nnamdi Ashomugha – who undoubtedly had his best years in Oakland, including a 1st Team All-Pro selection in 2008 – and hall of famer Warren Sapp. Ryan had three different head coaches during this time, with Art Shell following Turner, then Lane Kiffin. Kiffin was very publicly fired by owner Al Davis in the middle of the 2008 season.
After leaving Oakland, Ryan spent two years as the defensive coordinator at the Factory of Sadness, the Cleveland Browns, under Eric Mangini, with neither year being successful. Despite the curse of being a part of what has historically been one of the worst-run franchises in all of American pro sports, and working for an unsuccessful head coach, the 2010 team did manage to rise to #13 in total points surrendered before the entire staff was fired after the season.
After leaving the Factory of Sadness, Ryan moved to the Dallas Cowboys to serve as head coach Jason Garrett’s defensive coordinator, in what at the time was a very high-profile hire. During his time with Dallas, he coached several outstanding players including the always injured Sean Lee, Demarcus Ware, and Jay Ratliff. Those Cowboys teams generally underwhelmed as compared to the outsized expectations that slovenly follow the Cowboys franchises like starving dogs lap crumbs up off the floor, and statistically the defenses did not really produce at a high level. The 2011 defense was ranked #16 in points surrendered, #14 in total yardage, #23 in passing yardage, and #19 in interceptions, although they were better against the run, ranked #7 in rushing yardage and #13 in rushing yards per attempt. The 2012 team was actually worse, ranked #24 in total points surrendered, #19 in yardage, #19 against the pass, #22 against the rush, and #27 in rushing yards per attempt surrendered. Ryan himself is proud of the work he did in Dallas (watch the ESPN E60 interview if you haven’t), but ultimately things did not go as hoped and he was fired again.
Ryan’s next stop was with the New Orleans Saints, where he stayed for three seasons before he was infamously fired after a 47 – 14 beat down by our beloved Redskins in what is sadly what of the highlights of the past several several years for Washington. Under Ryan’s guidance, the Saints were one of the best defenses in the NFL in 2013 by some measures: #4 in both points and yards surrendered, #2 in passing yardage, #4 in sacks, although the run defense lagged behind (#19 in yardage and #29 in rushing yards per attempt). Things did not go well from there, though, and by the time Ryan was fired in 2015, the Saints had the worst defense in the league, by far (#32 in points, #31 in total yardage, passing yardage, and rushing yardage).
After that firing, Rex Ryan hired Rob as his assistant head coach / defense for the Buffalo Bills for the 2016 season. That team ended up 7 – 9, and was successful against the pass (#6 in the NFL in passing yardage surrendered and #8 in sacks) but mediocre at best by most other measures. Rex and Rob were both fired after the season ended. Rob was out of the NFL for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
The executive summary of Rob Ryan’s NFL coaching career is that he’s moved around quite a bit – which isn’t abnormal – and has had a few years of significant success, namely the 2003 Patriots, the 2006 Raiders, and the 2013 Saints, a couple of awful years (2013 Saints was the worst, by far), and a bunch of mediocre results. He’s one of the longest-tenured defensive coordinators to have never gotten a shot at a heading coaching job.
All of this is interesting, but what can we expect from Ryan in Washington? First of all, if you didn’t know anything about him, you might think that Ryan is a disciple of his father’s famous 46 defense, but that’s not necessarily the case. The 46 is really just a variant of the 4 – 3 with a cover 3 shell in which the linebackers overload the weak side of the opposing offense, and Ryan actually has more experience as a coordinator of 3 – 4 defenses:
3 – 4
2000 Patriots, 2005 Raiders, 2009 Browns, 2010 Browns, 2011 – 2012 Cowboys, 2013 – 2014 Saints, 2016 Bills
4 – 3
2001 – 2003 Patriots, 2004 Raiders, 2006 – 2008 Raiders, 2015 Saints.
The point is, this is a coach who’s been around long enough to have experience in every system. Ryan’s success with the Redskins does not hinge on his fit with the system. Ryan has seen every system. More than anything, his success depends on his ability to connect with and get the most out of his players. The inside linebacker position at something of a crossroads, with Zach Brown not being asked back, and being manned by the likes of stalwart Mason Foster, who’s coming off of a down year in which his physical limitations were exposed, several young players such as Shawn Dion-Hamilton, Cole Holcomb, and others who will all need development. Not to mention, the Redskins’ theft of former 49er Reuben Foster will need to be developed, and frankly supervised, despite his injury.
All of that is to say that Sexy Rexy isn’t just a metrocar driver with the thing on autopilot. The Redskins need him to legitimately make some progress with these players, which is something that the man he replaced, Kirk Olivadotti, failed to do. Not to mention, he’s a defensive coordinator in waiting if Greg Manusky’s performance really goes south. It’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination to see Rex being asked to take over in a pinch, at least if head coach Jay Gruden isn’t fired himself.
One thing’s for sure: having Rex around is going to be a fun ride. I can’t wait for us to get to listen to his pressers in training camp in a month – stay tuned for quote magic.