NFL 2013 Off-Season Thread

[Kris P Lettus]

Find this article at:http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...or-vindication Rob Ryan, New Orleans Saints looking for vindication Associated PressPublished:█May 23, 2013 at 07:57 p.m.Updated:█May 23, 2013 at 08:26 p.m.NEW ORLEANS -- Rob Ryan figures his firing in Dallas only will help him relate to a█New Orleans Saints█defense humbled by a historically bad season."I don't like getting fired," Ryan said Thursday during his first meeting with reporters since coach█Sean Payton█hired him in February to revamp New Orleans' last-ranked defense. "I know I got my feelings hurt and so did our players. We're looking to do something about it."The█Saints█gave up 7,042 yards in 2012, the most in a single season in the NFL. Payton has said that performance forced him to make a change at defensive coordinator, even though he felt bad letting█Steve Spagnuolo█go after only one highly unusual season. Spagnuolo never coached with Payton, who was suspended all of last season in connection with the NFL's bounty probe of the█Saints.Ryan has been known to exhibit a brash demeanor more akin to that of█Gregg Williams, the█Saints' defensive coordinator from 2009 to 2011. Williams often referred to himself as a disciple of retired coach Buddy Ryan, Rob Ryan's dad.Ryan has studied some of the schemes the█Saints█executed well under Williams and brought some of them back. His approach fosters toughness, safety█Malcolm Jenkins█said, and that is something█Saints█players embrace, even as they are mindful of the scrutiny they faced from the league in the past."There's a line and you don't cross it, but you want to get as close to that line as you can," Jenkins said. "We definitely want to be a physical, feared defense."If successful, Ryan could for the first time serve as a defensive coordinator on a winning team, something he never did while holding that post in Cleveland, Oakland and Dallas. He won a█Super Bowl█as a defensive assistant for the█New England Patriots."I just feel like a sense of urgency," Ryan said. "I can't wait to give everything I have to this organization. I know everybody is on the same path."Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press