Filed under: Cowboys, NFC East
More than a month after the Cowboys hired Rob Ryan, their new defensive coordinator finally met with the Dallas media on Thursday afternoon. Ryan, twin brother of famously forthright New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, was worth the wait."We're gonna be a great defense," said the 48-year-old Ryan who inherits a unit that crashed from ninth in the league during the NFC East title season of 2009 to 23rd in the debacle that was Dallas' 2010 campaign. "We're gonna 'sic 'em from the word go. We're gonna be multiple. We're gonna move our 3-4 defense around and get after people. ... The right guy (to make that happen) is standing here in front of you.
"Anybody can talk the talk, but I can walk it. I'm just gonna be myself. I don't know if I got I swag or not. I'm sure I do. I'm just gonna be me and that's usually been good enough."
Although Ryan coached the linebackers as the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2001 and 2003, he didn't make the playoffs during his previous two stops as a coordinator -- Oakland (2004-08) and Cleveland (2009-10). However, his defense wasn't typically the major reason why. Last year, for example, the Browns finished 13th in scoring defense while scoring the NFL's second-fewest points.
Consequently, Ryan was available when new Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was looking for a coordinator -- Garrett's predecessor, Wade Phillips, had also been in charge of the defense until his midseason dismissal. Interim coordinator Paul Pasqualoni left to become Connecticut's coach.
"We have a ton of talent here," Ryan said. "I've been really excited, getting to know the guys. It's a real smart group. They've been very well-coached. I like the way they play. We won't have to make any excuses. We're gonna win. ... The first thing's attitude. You gotta come in with the right frame of mind. We gotta attack people. We gotta be on the offensive on defense. We gotta attack, get the ball back for our offense."
Asked why the Cowboys performed so poorly in 2010 with virtually the same cast that played so well in 2009, Ryan declined to point fingers.
"I'm not here to farm anybody else's land," said the rumpled and heavyset Ryan, sounding like his irascible father, Buddy, the former Philadelphia Eagles coach and coordinator of the Chicago Bears' fearsome 1985 Super Bowl championship defense. "I'm here to do a great (expletive) job and you're gonna see that. I was guarded early (in the press conference), but that's not me.
"I'm an honest, hard-working guy, not exactly a picture of perfect health (or) a male model. But I'm a damn good football coach. I'm gonna be a strength, not a liability."
Ryan feels the same way about his assistants who include: longtime NFL line coach Brian Baker; linebackers coach Matt Eberflus -- "a rising star" and "my right hand" -- who followed his boss from Cleveland; and holdovers Dave Campo and Brett Maxie in the secondary.
"We've assembled the best defensive staff in football," Ryan said with his usual bravado.
The Raiders ranked third on defense in 2006, but Ryan hasn't otherwise put up the numbers to compare with such defensive icons as Dick LeBeau, Dom Capers, Monte Kiffin or his own brother. Not that Ryan doesn't consider himself top-shelf.
"I've been coordinator of the year in college (at Oklahoma State in 1997 by The Sporting News) and in pro football (by USA Today in 2006)," he said. "I woulda had the trifecta in junior college, but they don't have the award so I gave it to myself."
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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/02/17/rob-ryan-meets-dallas-media-finally/
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