On Saturday the Saints made it official and hired Rob Ryan as their new Defensive Coordinator. Sean Payton has a habit of hiring DC’s that beat him (Williams, Spagnuolo) in the past. If you remember the thumping the Saints took in 2010, you can see why Payton chose Ryan for the job. Although Romeo Crennel may have been the better choice, he stands to make more money staying at home since the Chiefs still owe him $3.2 million a season for the next two years if he doesn’t coach a play.
I really think Payton did not like his defense being the all time worst in NFL history so making a clean break from Spagnuolo and the 4-3 base defense was needed. If you remember when the Saints were known for being a defensive minded team with the Dome Patrol, it was in the 3-4 defense. While Ryan won’t have to go out and win games with a QB like Drew Brees at the helm, Ryan is expected to create turnovers and get the opposing side’s offense off the field.
It won’t be an easy road for Ryan because not only are the Saints in need of quality players at the cornerback, outside linebacker, defensive end (opposite Cam Jordan) and safety positions, they also have a number of players with inflated salaries on defense that will probably have to be released if they can’t restructure (Will Smith, Jonathan Vilma to name a few) their contracts. In addition to this, the Saints will be without a 2nd round draft pick due to the bounty incident. But don’t fret Saints fans, the Saints do have talent that I think was not used well last year. In order for the Saints defense to rebound from being the worst in history, players like Martez Wilson, Junior Galette, and Akiem Hicks will have to step it up because they will be getting a lot more reps this season.
It will be interesting to see what the Saints do this offseason because there are a lot of holes to fill and not a lot of money to do it.
Tags:
3-4 Defense,
New Orleans Saints,
NFL,
Rob Ryan