Rams not hiring Rob Ryan

USAToday

The Rob Ryan Era at Rams Park has come to an abrupt end almost as puzzling as the idea of hiring him as defensive coordinator here in the first place. After Ryan interviewed a second time with the Rams on Monday, the team decided today they would not hire him as DC after all, with Jeff Fisher’s explanation, “It wasn’t a scheme fit.”

Well, duh. But it didn’t take two interviews to figure out Ryan, a career 3-4 coach, wasn’t a fit for the Rams’ 4-3 defensive scheme; something else must have been up. Adam Schefter has reported that the Rams had a contract agreement with Ryan, (which justifies media reports that the team was on its way to hiring him) but that Ryan never signed it.

That makes me think Ryan either found a situation he likes better, or ultimately decided the Rams job was a no-win proposition for him. Could be the pay wasn’t quite right, could be he found a 3-4 team he’s better-suited to, could be, assuming he’s staying a DC, he found a team where he’ll have more freedom to run the defense than he might have had under Fisher. 

That last thought is my guess as to where things actually broke down between Ryan and Fisher. I don’t know how Fisher used to run things in Tennessee, but he had a firm hand in the defense here this past season, and if he was pulling it out any time soon, it wouldn’t have been by much. The Rams don’t need two strong-willed coaches fighting over how to call the defense.

Rob Ryan didn’t get hired because he wasn’t a scheme fit, he didn’t get hired because he wasn’t an ego fit. Ego is not necessarily a bad quality for a coach to have, but clashing egos are bad for a coaching staff. The Rams will ultimately be better off for not having made this move, and if Ryan’s landing somewhere else like I’m guessing, he may be better off for it, too.

The Rams have, however, officially hired Frank Bush as their new linebackers coach.

Postscript: my initial thoughts have been essentially confirmed by Pro Football Talk and by Bernie Miklasz. Sounds like Ryan was going to push for the Rams to switch to 3-4, and that's not happening.

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