METAIRIE, La. - Former Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, once the toast of the town with his sizeable personality, unique look and brash style has come out swinging in defense of his abilities after being fired last season while the team had a historically bad defense.
In an interview with TheMMQB.com, Ryan seems to say his major flaw was not being a jerk and calling out for a change in defensive styles that he says was wrong for the team's personnel.
Reunited with his brother Rex in Buffalo, Rob did not mince words in basically saying the Saints problems weren't his fault.
"You are going to be dead last playing this bull-- defense," he said in the interview. "But it is my fault because I didn't say anything. I never stood up and said, F-- you, I ain't coaching this. I promise you I'd say it now."
Among Ryan's complaints were that the Saints tried to play the Seattle-style defense without the Seattle personnel; they let go of two pivotal team members in Malcolm Jenkins and Roman Harper and that they changed the entire defense to try to accommodate pricey free agent signee Jairus Byrd.
"They probably should have fired everybody that made that decision to go in that direction. Now I'm going to move my whole family over here to Buffalo for a reason: to go kick everybody's ass, including theirs."
In an interview with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Payton defended the decision to let Ryan go, citing the team's struggles and familiar problems like having too few men on the field in several instances.
Ryan remained boastful of his own abilities, despite being fired in Dallas and New Orleans. He remains defiant, saying he didn't get a chance to implement his own defense in the Crescent City.
"Seattle has been great, but all the other teams doing (that scheme) are finishing sh--ty like I did," Ryan said. "Right there next to New Orleans is Atlanta, Jacksonville. That's not sour grapes. That's me getting pissed off. Because I am great."
