Saints‘ defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has been disappointing this season, and with the team eliminated from playoff contention in a historically lackluster division, Ryan’s job could be in jeopardy, writes Mike Triplett of ESPN. The Saints’ players, however, expect their coach back next year, including defensive backs Kenny Vaccaro and Keenan Lewis.
“Rob will be here,” Vaccaro said. “Rob’s my guy. I love Rob. I’ll fight for Rob every game. I’m a Rob guy, so there’s no point even asking me about Rob. He’ll ride with me until the end.”
“I want him back. I’m gonna ride with him 100, no matter what the situation is. A great coordinator,” said Lewis. “You can’t just blame him when things go wrong.”
Here some other organizational notes as we approach the end of this NFL regular season:
- The 49ers are already vetting potential head coaches, and could look to a division rival to find their man, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. In the video clip associated with that Bleacher Report article, Cole puts the spotlight on Seahawks‘ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as a top option to replace Jim Harbaugh. Cole also believes the team could target Patriots‘ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The top in-house candidate is defensive line coach Jim Tomsula.
- Tony Sparano has gone 3-8 as interim head coach of the Raiders, and while he isn’t expected to be the team’s first choice, he is a legitimate candidate to be the head coach in 2015, writes Bill Williamson of ESPN.com. Harbaugh is thought to be the team’s number one option, but if he decides to take a different job either in the NFL or with the University of Michigan, Williamson believes that Sparano will be among a group of coaches considered for the job.
- Williamson also notes that among other coaching candidates to emerge for the Raiders will be Broncos‘ defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. Del Rio has previous head coaching experience with the Jaguars.
- After hiring Charlie Casserly as a consultant, Jason La Canfora has made a connection between the potential general manager opening with the Jets and Texans‘ scouting director Mike Maccagnan (via Twitter). He believes Maccagnan has a strong relationship with Casserly. La Canfora also highlights Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as a coaching candidate due to his relationship with Casserly from their time together in Washington (via Twitter).