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Rob Ryan has completely turned around the Dallas Cowboys' offense. I can't put my finger on what he has done, other than sending in exotic blitz packages, moving DeMarcus Ware all over the line and bringing out the best in Sean Lee, but Ryan has done it.
It is even more impressive because Dallas fired head coach Wade Phillips, who then went down to Houston and turned them into one of the best defenses in the NFL. This is the same Houston team that has never won their division because their defense couldn't stop anybody. Yet, Phillips couldn't do it in Dallas.
But Rob Ryan has and that means he may not be there for long.
When Jacksonville fired Jack Del Rio, the list of coaching candidates went up. Rob Ryan's name is on that list. He has the pedigree. His brother has taken the New York Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship games. His dad is Buddy Ryan, one of the most respected defensive coaches in the history of football.
Rob has been coaching a long time, as well. When I attended the University of Oklahoma as a journalism major, I covered Oklahoma Sooners football games for student publications. We had a tough-as-nails defensive coordinator named Rex Ryan. However, head coach John Blake was fired and Rex went with him in large part because Oklahoma couldn't beat in-state rival Oklahoma State. The defensive coordinator of the Cowboys at that time was Rob Ryan.
Now, Ryan is working his way up the NFL ranks. He worked as the linebackers coach for the New England Patriots during two of their Super Bowl runs (2001, 2003). He moved to Oakland where he served as the defensive coordinator and then took over the role for two seasons at Cleveland. He is now in Dallas, where he has the Cowboys winning close games and fighting for the NFC East crown.
However, I don't know if a team will take a chance on him. He has proven to be a winner. However, he has an attitude and arrogance that might be bigger than his brothers. He refuses to cut his hair and, at one time, said that if a team didn't want him because he wouldn't cut his hair, he didn't want to work for them anyway. It is this attitude that will hold him back. However, no one can say he hasn't earned it on the field.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has followed the Dallas Cowboys since he was a child, his favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s. Through the great years of the '90s and the hard times of the '80s, Shawn never turned his back on America's Team.
Source: Dallas Cowboys
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