DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Rex Ryan remains Baltimore DC

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First-year Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh scored a staffing coup on Monday, and struck a blow for continuity as well, by retaining defensive coordinator Rex Ryan.




Ryan
Ryan had interviewed two weeks ago for the Ravens' head coach position, after Brian Billick was dismissed, and players had publicly lobbied for him to get the job. Ryan also interviewed for the head coach positions with the Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins.

In addition to his defensive coordinator role, Ryan will serve as assistant head coach. He signed a new three-year contract that is believed to be worth as much as $1.5 million annually. Ryan was earning $1 million-$1.2 million per year under his previous contract.

The Washington Redskins were also interested in hiring Ryan as defensive coordinator, even though they have yet to decide on a head coach to succeed Joe Gibbs. The Ravens had released Ryan, allowing him to speak to other franchises about jobs, but he remained under contract in Baltimore. Thus, the Ravens did not have to permit him to leave for any post that represented a parallel move.

Ryan said last week that he knew and liked Harbaugh, with whom he worked when both were assistant coaches at the University of Cincinnati in the mid-1990s, and that he would strongly consider being a part of the first-year coach's staff. Harbaugh, who most recently served as the Philadelphia Eagles' secondary coach, stressed at his introductory news conference that he hoped to retain Ryan on his staff.

An assistant coach in the league for 11 seasons, Ryan, 45, has worked the past nine years for the Ravens. After several stints as a college assistant, he joined the staff of the Arizona Cardinals, coached by his father, Buddy Ryan, in 1994. He returned to the college ranks after two years, and then joined Billick's staff in Baltimore in 1999. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2005.

In his three seasons as coordinator, Ryan's defense has statistically ranked among the top six in the league each year. Baltimore was No. 1 in the NFL in 2006 and also surrendered the fewest points in the league.

Ryan's twin brother, Rob Ryan, is the Oakland Raiders' defensive coordinator.

Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3218544

Harbaugh is building himself a nice supporting cast.

The only downfall is that both Ryan and Cameron are going to be coaching candidates every off-season.

Another downfall is that Baltimore just doesn't have the talent that it used to. They definitely do have some good talent, don't get me wrong. But, this ain't the Rats of a few years ago.

And don't forget that this is not a surprising move since Ozzie was smart and let Rex search for a HC job while remaining in the Baltimore offices even after he was 'fired'

Their defense may not be what it was...but it is definitely better off with Rex there. A shame.

Let's hope for a power struggle.

Well the coaching staff should be pretty decent for Baltimore now, but the talent level is still very bad there and their salary cap situation is bad too.

They made a smart move though be keeping Ryan as the DC there because they may have a shot at staying competitive. I see Baltimore doing one of two things next year. They will either be very good again, or very bad. We'll see.

Um... So what... Don't give a rats... Browns board...

although, our Browns feasted on rat bird meat in 2007... so maybe it's a good thing he's back..

Happy Birthday to you.......

I think ryan is a good coach, but I think he's going to be considered for vacant coach positions pretty often, it's only a matter of time until he gets his shot.

Happy birthday, AtzB!

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Well the coaching staff should be pretty decent for Baltimore now, but the talent level is still very bad there and their salary cap situation is bad too.

They made a smart move though be keeping Ryan as the DC there because they may have a shot at staying competitive. I see Baltimore doing one of two things next year. They will either be very good again, or very bad. We'll see.

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Now we'll get to see if Ozzie is as good as he's roported to be, or if Phil was the real draft guru in the Balto FO. They need lots of help right now, and they need it fast- or they'll be looking at no better than .500 ball for the next 2 years.

And you're right about them being smart in keeping Ryan. They'd be sunk with a new HC, new DC, new playbooks, AND all the holes they need to fill.

Right now, I'll bet it's a bit more fun to be a Browns fan than it is to be a RAvens fan...