The New Orleans Saints have officially ended their search for a defensive coordinator. The Saints have announced hiring Rob Ryan to take over the team's defense next season. Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com first reported the hiring on Saturday.
"I am excited and thrilled to be joining the New Orlenas Saints. I have had the oppertunity to get to know Sean Payton and his staff a bit better recently and I am excited about joining the team. I have a ton of respect for Mr. Benson, Mickey Loomis and we're getting started right away," Ryan said in a released statement.
Ryan comes to the Saints after being fired from the same position with the Dallas Cowboys where he spent the last two seasons. In 2011, the Cowboy's defense finished 14th overall. The until was riddled with injuries in 2012 and gave up 355.4 yards of offense per game.
"In regards to Rob, we have experience in preparing and playing against his defenses and they've always been challenging in terms of different looks and pressures that they feature," Sean Payton said.
Ryan will be replacing former Saints' defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, who was fired in January. In 2012, the Saints defense ranked 32nd in the league, giving up 440.1 yards per game. They set an single-season NFL record for total yards allowed. They also ranked dead last in run defense. When Payton was reinstated as head coach after serving a season-long suspension, he knew it was time for a change.
Payton announced the team would be running a 3-4 defense full-time. This makes sense since the team did so poor at the 4-3. Ryan's transition with the team should be easy with the new defensive plan in place. It is the system he has always run in his previous coaching positions. With some of the Saints' verterans better suited for a 4-3, it is assumed that Ryan will look to move some fresh players into the unit.
Ryan had interviewed with the St. Louis Rams for their defensive coordinator position and was assumed to be hired by the team, but a deal was never reached between the two. The Saints had been in discussions with University of Georgia's defensive coordinator, Todd Graham. He interviewed for the postion, but took himself out of the running on Friday. This will be Ryan's fourth defensive coordinator job. He also spent time with Celveland and Oakland, before Dallas and now New Orleans.
