Given the fact that his predecessor didn’t seem so popular in the locker room, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise Saints players like the idea of new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.
Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was among the first to tweet his support, calling Ryan “a real good hire for us,” before asking fans what they thought.
Other players were equally on board, although that’s reasonable considering the fact they had the league’s worst defense ever, in terms of yards allowed last year.
Defensive end Cameron Jordan played in a 3-4 in college, and he things situational rushers such as Junior Galette and Martez Wilson will make a significant step, although it makes sense that they pursue Dallas free agent outside linebacker Anthony Spencer as well.
“The 3-4 is what I ran in college and it’s something similar to we ran with coach Gregg Williams,” Jordan said, via Nakia Hogan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Hopefully it won’t be that hard to transition from the 4-3 to the 3-4. It sounds like what I have been doing.
“It’s a blitzing, attacking system, which will be fun. I think it suits me. Without a doubt [Galette and Wilson] will be the most excited about the situation. As long as everybody is on the same page I can’t see why this wouldn’t be a great fit for us.”
But Jordan also pointed out that this will be the Saints third defensive coordinator in as many years, and as much as Steve Spagnuolo is a convenient scapegoat, you don’t break records like they broke last year via coaching alone.