Rob Ryan was the defensive coordinator for the then-Oakland Raiders from 2004 to 2008, a less-than-glorious period during which the franchise averaged four wins a season and had four head coaches. The third coach, Lane Kiffin, fired Ryan — only to have owner Al Davis reverse the move.
“I love this franchise,” Ryan said last week. “And God knows I’ve been on 10 of them, so I should know. When I worked with the great Al Davis, I was there five years with four head coaches. The reason why he kept me, well … I was great.”
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And with that, he smiled big. Ryan, now 61, is in his third season back with the Raiders as a senior defensive assistant. When he spoke with reporters last week, he was a very happy minicamper.
“We were getting better each week, and I think by the end, you saw a great defense,” Ryan said. “I think that’s what you’re going to see this year.”
Ryan has been an NFL assistant since 1994, though he took a four-year break to be a college coordinator. His brother, Rex, was the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills as well as an assistant and defensive coordinator before turning to broadcasting. His father, Buddy, was an NFL coach (mostly a defensive assistant) for 26 years, winning Super Bowl rings with the Jets in 1968 and Chicago Bears in 1985.
“I want to beat my dad’s record for longevity,” Ryan said. “I won’t be the best Ryan by any stretch. But I do want to coach longer than all of them did, so that’d be good.”
Rob Ryan loves it here 🏴☠️pic.twitter.com/B2PjNxAoh2
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) June 13, 2024
He plans to retire as a Raider, and he thinks he is back in the right place at the right time. It all starts with head coach Antonio Pierce, defensive end Maxx Crosby and the defensive line.
“You got a whole stadium yelling for ‘AP, AP,’ That was the coolest thing ever,” Ryan said, referring to the last home game of the 2023 season. “He’s real … the genuine article. He’s straight out of Compton, literally, so he’s a complete badass. He wants our players and our coaches to be themselves and (then) bring them all together and create a culture.
“He ain’t boring nobody. He is going to be himself, and he’s going to make us winners.”
As for Crosby, “You’re talking about the best defensive player in the league, probably … that I’ve ever seen,” Ryan said. “Now, I’ve only been around it 30 years, but I mean, he’s that good. … Maxx makes everybody tougher. Maxx makes everybody better.”
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The Raiders also added defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, and Ryan expects defensive end Malcolm Koonce to be the big beneficiary.
“You’re going to see Koonce just take off like crazy because, if it’s me, I think I’m going to put all the protection on the other side,” Ryan said. “Koonce is going to wear you out. … Whatever people (do), good luck.”
One of the unsung standouts on last year’s ninth-ranked Raiders defense was safety Marcus Epps, a leader in his first year after coming over from the Philadelphia Eagles.
“How did that Philadelphia defense look without Epps? Oops,” Ryan said. “You know, they blamed their eight coordinators, but the simple fact is when you take a great player out of the middle of your defense, it hurts. He knows the game and slows the game down for everybody. Epps is just … that gritty guy, that gym rat that makes everybody better.”
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Ryan also had plenty to say about …
• Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham:
“He’s going to be an unbelievable head coach in this league,” Ryan said. “I mean, the simple fact is we stole the best one in AP (Antonio Pierce), period. But this guy here is No. 2. And when he gets his chance, he is going to make it happen because he has a way of making people better. But he also has a way of mentally tailoring down a complicated scheme and making it simple. He’s a big-brain guy that actually knows how to use it and communicate with the toughest of the tough.”
• Cornerbacks Jack Jones and Nate Hobbs:
“They are beautiful people — they are something else. … I tell you what, they can play. You can throw that ball out there against Jack if you want to, but look out because half the time he’ll bring it back against you.
“And Hobbs, I don’t know what position it says on his trading card because he plays everywhere. And he’s smart, he’s tough. I love those guys that will hit an offensive tackle 200 pounds bigger, whip his tail and come off and make the tackle. Hey, nobody tell him you’re not supposed to do that.”
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• Safety Tre’von Moehrig:
“Tre’von is the most talented safety in football. Now he’s just got to bring it. … The sky’s the limit.”
Moehrig smiled when he heard that. He later spoke about what Ryan has meant for players’ confidence.
“Coach Rob, we have a good time in that room,” Moehrig said. “He always helps us out, he’s always giving us knowledge whenever he can, always up front, but we always have a good time. He tells us stories back when he was coaching and how we can implement it in our game. He’s helped me out a ton.”
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Ryan is just one of 28 coaches on the Raiders’ huge staff, and Pierce said he purposely mixed older and younger coaches.
“Just because of time and technology,” he said, smiling. “You think Marvin Lewis is going to go crazy on that computer, or Rob Ryan and Joe Philbin? No. The younger guys coming from the college ranks and other places are really tech savvy. … And I think for all of us, we always say we’ve got to coach the players, but coaches need to be coached. And when you have the expertise of a Marvin Lewis, a Joe Philbin, the years of a Rob Ryan, how can you pass that up?”
Al Davis would certainly agree.
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(Photo: Jeff Bottari / Getty Images)