The Dallas Cowboys suffered a disappointing loss in the final week of the season to the Washington Redskins to miss out on the playoffs for the second straight year. Owner Jerry Jones said there would be changes to the team and that things might get "very uncomfortable" at Valley Ranch.
Things started to turn that way on Tuesday, as the team decided to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, according to ESPNDallas.com.
"I want to express my appreciation to Rob for all of his efforts and contributions to the Cowboys over the past two years," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said in a statement. "At this time, the decision has been made to move forward in a different direction philosophically on defense. I have an immense amount of respect for Rob as a person and as a football coach and I wish him and his family the very best."
The team already parted ways with running backs coach Skip Peete and more changes could be on the way
"I can tell you change is necessary at 8-8," Jones said, later adding, "Change is in order when you spend the two seasons in a row down to the last two games and lose them, so we're going to have to have changes."
Jones said that head coach Jason Garrett was safe, but the same did not go for Ryan, who had one year remaining on his contract. The team finished 19th in total defense and were ranked 17th against the run and 21st against the pass while allowing 25 points per game, ranked 24th in the NFL.
"I inherited a team that was 31st in the league in defense and made them better," Ryan told ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon. "I (expletive) made them a hell of a lot better. I'll be out of work for like five minutes."
Ryan started his coaching career in New England where he served as linebackers coach before moving to Oakland as the defensive coordinator. He also served as defensive coordinator in Cleveland for tow years before joining the Cowboys.
The Cowboys finished 8-8 this year and dealt with numerous injuries throughout the season, including to nose tackle Jay Ratliff and linebacker Sean Lee. The team signed eight new players over the second half of the season to account for injuries, including Michael Coe and Sterling Moore.
"I think I did a good job and I think our staff did a good job on defense trying to compete with what we had at the end of the year," Ryan told MacMahon. "But the best job we did was when we were able to coach our starters."
Linebacker DeMarcus Ware only had one healthy arm over the final two games of the season and recorded only two tackles with zero sacks. Ware played in all 16 games this season but decreased his totals in tackles and sacks from 2011. He has 11.5 sacks this season after putting up 19.5 the previous season.
Brandon Carr played well at cornerback for most of the season, but the Cowboys ranked last in the league with Kansas City with just seven interceptions. The team also receiver nine fumbles, but went for long stretches without forcing turnovers.
The departure of Ryan may signal a change in the defensive philosophy of the team going forward. The Cowboys ran a 3-4 under Ryan, but depending on who they hire as the next coach, the team could revert back to a 4-3 scheme.
The Cowboys lost a number of close games this season, including a 34-31 overtime loss against the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 23. Dallas also lost by six points to the Atlanta Falcons and two points to the Baltimore Ravens. The team opened the season with a 24-17 win against the New York Giants, but lost three of the next four games.
During the second half of the season the Cowboys got hot and won three games in a row, including a 27-24 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dallas has a path to the playoffs as the NFC East division winner, but the team lost its final two games, including the regular-season finale against the Redskins.
The Cowboys have lost the final game of the season in each of the past two years, losing out on the NFC East division title in the process. In 2011, the Giants defeated the Cowboys in Week 17 en route to their Super Bowl championship.