WhoDat!656

At least publicly, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher doesn't have any hard feelings about the way Rob Ryan came to St. Louis as his defensive coordinator, left four days later and took the same position with the New Orleans Saints less than two weeks after that.

The Rams announced the hiring of Ryan on Jan. 25. On Jan. 29, the Rams then issued a statement saying, "After extensive discussions involving defensive philosophy, the Rams and Rob Ryan agreed that he was not the right fit for the defensive coordinator position."

Saints coach Sean Payton hired Ryan on Feb. 9 after interviewing him and University of Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

Fisher said Wednesday though Ryan never signed a contract, he "made a commitment" to be the Rams' defensive coordinator. But Fisher didn't harbor any ill will toward Ryan.


"People sometimes in life change their mind, and I was fine with that," Fisher said. "I had no problem. If he wanted to go there, that's fine. If he wanted to stay here, that's great. We were obviously talking and had a couple of things together and he had a change of heart. That is fine and (I) have respect for that."

ESPN reported at the time that "Rams coach Jeff Fisher says Rob Ryan told him he was leaving to work for Sean Payton by walking in office and dropping keys on his desk." Payton told a different story Wednesday.


"I had gotten a call, and it was someone else that said, 'Hey, he might be available. He's not staying in St. Louis,'" Payton said. "So once that was the case, then I had an interest. It ended up working out for us."

The Saints' defense has undergone a massive transformation under Ryan after last season's historically poor effort under Steve Spagnuolo. This season the Saints' defense ranks sixth in total defense, fifth in scoring, third against the pass and 17th vs. the run.

"He (Ryan) has done a great job," Fisher said. "He is an outstanding coach. He has them playing well and he has the pieces now. There are no holes in the defense. Everyone is playing well together."

The Rams brought in Tim Walton to replace Ryan as defensive coordinator. St. Louis ranks 19th in total defense, 13th against the run, 22nd vs. the pass and 14th in points allowed.

Jeff Fisher says Rob Ryan 'made a commitment' to St. Louis Rams before opting for New Orleans Saints: notebook | NOLA.com

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."