In a move that has seemed inevitability almost since the day he was hired, the New Orleans Saints are reportedly preparing to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Alex Marvez of Fox Sports was the first with the breaking NFL news.
News of Ryan's long-awaited ousting comes only a day after his defense surrendered 526 yards of offense and four touchdowns to quarterback Kirk Cousins and a Washington Redskins offense that had struggled to post consistent point production through the 2015 NFL season's first half.
Under Ryan's watch, the Saints have fielded a historically bad pass defense this season. They're on pace to set the record for most touchdown passes allowed in a season, as noted by Pro Football Talk. The original mark was set by the 1963 Denver Broncos, who gave up 40 through the air. Ryan's unit is currently on pace to allow 45, after upping their season total to 28 touchdown passes in 10 games on Sunday against the Redskins.
In fact, the group has already set at least one NFL record, becoming the first team in NFL history to allow four touchdown passes and no interceptions in three-straight games. They rank last in the league in yards allowed (424.7), as well as points allowed (31.5).
Ryan has held the position of defensive coordinator for four NFL franchsises now - the Saints, the Oakland Raiders, the Cleveland Browns and the Dallas Cowboys. Despite his brashness and bluster, he's never really fielded a truly stout defensive unit.
And while this Saints defense is certainly the worst of the bunch - and perhaps the worst the league has ever seen - the performance of Ryan's unit isn't really all that much different from what the rest of his NFL career has looked like.
But hey, at least the Ryan's still have Rex and Buddy.
No word yet on who will replace Rob if and/or when the change is made, though defensive assistant and former Raiders head coach Dennis Allen seems a likely candidate.
