Dallas Cowboys to Hire Rob Ryan: Why the Hype?

It's been reported since late Friday that Rob Ryan (son of Buddy Ryan and brother of Rex) will be the Cowboys' next defensive coordinator (although nothing is official yet) and this news has created excitement in Dallas.

The question is exactly why is it exciting that a guy who coached two of the worst defenses in the NFL is coming to Dallas?

Last season, the Cleveland Browns were 22nd in the NFL in total defense, 18th in passing (220.7ypg) and rushing (129.4ypg). This was an improvement on the previous season, when the Browns ranked 31st in total defense.

Before his stint in Cleveland, Ryan was the defensive coordinator in Oakland for four years, where the Raiders ranked 27th, 3rd, 22nd and 27th in total defense. 

This all means that not only has Ryan been inconsistent since he left New England (where he was the linebackers coach in 2002 and 2003), but even when he's been consistent, he's been consistently bad. 

One could say that in his time with the Browns and Raiders, Ryan hasn't had a unit with as much talent as Dallas has on their team now. However, that would be wrong. 

The Cowboys fell from ninth in total defense last season to 23rd (just under the Browns) this season. A big reason for that was because when Paul Pasqualoni was given the defensive coordinator position, he ran a lot more zone coverage in the passing game which created turnovers, but because of the lack of pressure, they gave up more yards and points in the passing game. Not to mention they weren't very good at stopping teams before Garrett became head coach. 

The Cowboys have solid pieces on their defense, but it also needs a lot of work. They're in need of a huge shakeup with old middle linebackers, inexperienced safeties and undisciplined cornerbacks.

The Cowboys have to hire someone and have been interviewing candidates, but hiring Ryan makes it seem like the Cowboys are rushing. It hasn't even been two weeks yet.

It's also unclear if the Cowboys are hiring Ryan because of his work and experience with the 3-4 defense or because of everyone else they interviewed has gone somewhere else. Gerg Manusky went to the San Diego Chargers and Vic Fangio is staying with the San Francisco 49ers.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm against the hiring of Ryan. There's a chance that this could really work out; Ryan is aggressive just like his brother Rex and with the Cowboys' early draft pick, they could get another defensive standout to help the team. Combine that with Garrett's physical style of practice and this defense have the ability to improve.

What I'm saying is let's not be too excited when it comes to this hiring. Cowboys fans shoudn't think that because Ryan has been hired, they're a great defense again. An average defensive coordinator is being hired to coach a below-average defense; fans should be cautious.