Rob Ryan's exit from the Dallas Cowboys always felt like a someone-has-to-take-the-fall sort of move. His defense didn't live up to expectations in 2012, but injuries certainly didn't help the cause.
Former Cowboys defensive end Marcus Spears, who recently signed with the Baltimore Ravens, also thought Ryan's firing was odd.
"I don't feel like he should have been fired," Spears said Wednesday at LSU's pro day, according to Rowan Kavner of the Cowboys' official website. "I thought he did a great job from where we came a year prior to that, but to each his own. Organizations do what they feel is best for them and, at the end of the day, you can't knock them for that because hopefully they're making a decision trying to get to the championship."
Cowboys safety Danny McCray had a similar reaction.
"Rob's a great coach," McCray said. "So you don't really question it, it just kind of hits you, especially because it happens so fast. The season's over, then all of a sudden you see one thing, you kind of speculate who would it be, who would it be, and you have that one person that you really just take out of the circle that it won't be, and it ends up being that guy."
Ryan won't miss Big D if he can turn around the Saints' defense. There's already a Super Bowl-caliber offense in New Orleans behind quarterback Drew Brees. There's just the issue of trying to fix the NFL's worst defense. So Ryan will have every opportunity to prove Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wrong.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
