Silver and Black Report

Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan recently spoke out on the situation going on in Oakland and tossed his name into the hat as a possible head-coaching candidate if Tom Cable is jettisoned.

“Hell yeah, I’d have interest,” Ryan told USA Today. “I haven’t talked to Mr. [Al] Davis because he has a coach. Let’s see what happens.”

Boy, is the former Raider coordinator really lobbying for a job.

Ryan was employed in Oakland from 2004-to-2008. During that span, the vocal defensive coordinator was liked by many of the young players the Raiders drafted, but the results on the field were erratic.

In the two-win 2006 campaign, Ryan’s bunch was the lone bright spot. With the unit returning all 11-starters the following season, Oakland had a disappointing end to the 2007-year. The inconsistent play, lack of pressure applied by his schemes and feeble rush defense were highlights of his tenure.

Here’s a breakdown of how they fared on the ground against opponents during his time as coordinator:

2008 – 31^st in the NFL – 159.7 yds/g

2007 – 31^st in the NFL – 145.9 yds/g

2006 – 25^th in the NFL – 134.0 yds/g

2005 – 25^th in the NFL – 128.1 yds/g

2004 – 22^nd in the NFL – 125.8 yds/g

Ryan was hired by the Browns and in 2009; they ended as the 31^st ranked defense in the NFL.

He’s boisterous, outspoken, has a lot of bravado and players like performing for him. But the results he’s had since being a defensive coordinator have not warranted any chances of being a head coach. Why should they?

His brother Rex, who was wildly successful in Baltimore at least had a better resume and was known league wide as an up and comer. And this season, he’s proving his worth taking the New York Jets into the playoffs with a rookie quarterback and a defense that improved greatly under his tutelage.

But the only thing Rob has in terms of credentials for being a head football coach is his last name. The Ryan last name name is attached to the great Chicago Bears 46 defense popularized by his father Buddy. And in five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, the elder Ryan posted a 43-38-1 record with three post-season berths.

Rob has been coaching for 23-years – 12 in the NFL – but the only times he has been a part of a successful group was during his years in New England when they won Super Bowls in 2001 and 2003.

Rob has not had the same success coming up the ranks as his other relatives.

“It was like a dream come true for me,” Ryan said. “Me and my brother would say, ‘I’d like to coach for the Raiders.’ That’s something we always dreamed about — being the bad guy. I learned a ton of football from Mr. Davis. It was a great experience.

“We didn’t win, and that’s the thing. Nothing is guaranteed in this business. Even though they have the teams of the decades and had all of those Super Bowls, it didn’t work out when I was there five years.”

And it probably won’t work either with you being the head football man in Oakland.

Al Davis was right when he said:

I like Rob Ryan a lot, but it was time to make a change.

It was time for him to move on.

Yes, you’ll cater to Davis and say all the right things to get a job here.

Heck, he already started that process by stating; “The backup QB (Russell) is the one I thought would be a superstar by now.”

Well, that’s one way of grabbing Davis’ attention.

“He had that 77 rating his rookie year. I’m a little surprised he hasn’t become the superstar. I’m kind of hoping he doesn’t get in the game. That kid can throw it through a storm. I think the young man’s a good kid.”

So the pleading has begun…

Cable still has a job and with no signs of a decision coming, Ryan is already trying to convey the right thoughts to get in good with his former boss.

Davis should look at this and say, ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.’