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The St. Louis Rams are sitting down with ousted Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan on Friday for an interview, according to a report from Ed Werder of ESPN.
Fired Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is interviewing for the same position today with the Rams.
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) January 18, 2013
If you remember all the way back to last Friday - an eternity internet/Twitter time - it was a done deal, according to a report from Brian Costello of the New York Post. About an hour after that first report, it was walked back. A Rams source told TST that nothing was done between Ryan and the team, a fact echoed by several other outlets. Ryan himself later weighed in noting that he had not spoken with the Rams and was in fact still on vacation.
After that, Ryan and the Rams fell out of the news cycle completely. Until now.
Jeff Fisher knows Ryan, and his mentor was Ryan's famous father Buddy, who FIsher worked for in Chicago and Philadelphia when he got his start in the coaching business.
Ryan is an outsized personality, and the Rams will have to determine how he fits into the chemistry established by Fisher and his staff. Outside of known circuses like Oakland, Cleveland and Dallas, Ryan might settle in just fine under Fisher.
He certainly would take over a unit rich with talent, anchored by players like Chris Long, James Laurinaitis, Cortland Finnegan, Janoris Jenkins and Robert Quinn. A bigger question is whether or not hiring Ryan means a switch to a 3-4 defense. A very educated, informed guess would say that the Rams will not be switching to a three-man front, because of economics and the fact that a four-man front is a much more effective tool against option and pistol offenses which two teams in the division have now implemented.
Update: Ryan's interview is actually taking place on Saturday. He's arriving today.