METAIRIE, La. — Saints coach Sean Payton promised changes were coming to his sagging defense. He started by firing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.
Senior defensive assistant Dennis Allen will assume Ryan’s duties.
The move, announced Monday night on Payton’s weekly radio show on WWL-AM, comes a day after the Saints allowed 526 yards in a 47-14 loss to the Washington Redskins. The Saints rank last in the NFL in yards allowed per game with 424.7, yards allowed per play with 6.7 and points allowed per game with 31.5.
“I’m disappointed for Rob it didn’t work out,” Payton said. “He’s a fantastic staff guy. He’s a guy that was respected greatly, not only in the locker room but by his peers. We just had to at some point look closely (at making a change) because the direction we were going wasn’t good. We really struggled with substitutions, getting lined up, getting our guys the defensive call and being able to function.”
Injuries have hampered the unit lately, but New Orleans has ranked consistently low defensively for a season and a half, having finished last year ranked 31st.
Ryan was hired in 2013 and his unit ranked fourth that season, but has struggled since. Allen, a former NFL defensive coordinator and head coach, was hired by this past offseason by New Orleans, where he’d previously been a Payton assistant from 2006 to 2010.
Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images
