Ryan too Complex for Saints?

Rob Ryan was fired as the Cowboys' DC in early January. He
will fill the same role for the New Orleans Saints in 2013.
Photo credit to AOL Sporting News.

The Dallas Cowboys executive vice president said this week that Rob Ryan was fired for using too many schemes in his defense, putting aside any scapegoat theories many of us had.

Complexity on defense is generally thought to be a good thing. If you have more looks to throw at the other team than their quarterback and coaches can handle, you often have the upper hand and a better chance of winning the game.

But how much is too much? When the Cowboys were at full strength defensively, they were among the best units in the NFC. But as injuries piled up, with seven important players ultimately being hurt, their younger players struggled.

You could even argue that Tony Romo was trying to do too much as the defense faltered, but I won’t get into that here.

Now Rob Ryan is out in Dallas. He said he would be out of work for five minutes. A week or so later, he was about to sign with the Rams when a few details fell through. Instead, Ryan signed on with the Saints as their defensive coordinator.

The Saints had a decent amount of success under Gregg Williams before the bounty scandal struck New Orleans. Last year, under Steve Spagnuolo, the Saints had one of the worst defenses in NFL history; probably the worst, in fact.

The addition of Rob Ryan to their coaching staff immediately turned some heads and is leading to high expectations for their defensive unit in 2013. But will his defensive schemes be too many and too complex?

The team has lost many of the veterans they had during their Super Bowl run and other strong years with Williams. They had a decent front seven, but their secondary is among the weakest in the league, regardless of who their coach is.

Simplicity may be a better route for New Orleans, at least for the first year or so, as they add talent to the roster and their younger players gain experience.

I’m anxious to see how Ryan leads their defense and their players respond to whatever he throws at them. Regardless of what he does, I can’t imagine the Saints’ defense being any worse next year.

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