With Defense Flailing, Ravens Should Call Up Rex Ryan

The Baltimore Ravens have a storied history when it comes to defense. They won Super Bowl XXXV with a historically great defensive unit led by Ray Lewis. There was a time when being the Ravens’ defensive coordinator was like punching a ticket to be a NFL head coach. Marvin Lewis, Mike Nolan, Rex Ryan, and Chuck Pagano all left the defensive coordinator spot to become head coaches elsewhere. This offseason Mike Macdonald added his name to this list after having the Ravens lead the league in points allowed, takeaways, and sacks. The Ravens were supposed to have one of the strongest defenses in the NFL with former Ravens’ player Zachary Orr calling the defense. Instead, the defense has been dreadful. It is quite possible that the Ravens chose Orr from the franchise’s vines too soon. It’s quite possible that the Ravens need to come up with a solution to the problem with a new defensive coordinator.

What if the Ravens looked to their lineage of great defensive coordinators for the answer? I have an idea…

Let’s preface this with a look at how bad the problems on defense are. The Ravens defense has given up 2,493 passing yards, the most in the NFL. Quarterbacks are completing 67.2 percent of their passes against the purple and black. The Ravens just played a team that hadn’t scored 20 points all season and only had one win, just to give up 29 points and hand them their second victory. The Ravens defensive front wasn’t winning matchups against the Browns and it forced Orr to blitz in order to get any pressure. Orr didn’t find an answer to his problems and Cleveland kept taking the defense for a ride down the field. The Ravens have a defensive coaching problem. Something has to change, and it may have to be the person calling the shots for the Baltimore defense.

Replacing Orr as the defensive play-caller wouldn’t be an easy task in the middle of the NFL season. With many of the exciting candidates being locked in with their teams of the 2024 season, John Harbaugh’s options would be limited. Plucking a coordinator from the past is the most accessible option in front of the Ravens, should they replace Orr as the defensive coordinator. Dean Pees is in the building as a senior advisor, though he wouldn’t be the guy to take over his old job. If the Ravens feel that the Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry combination can get them to the Super Bowl if they only figure things out defensively, change becomes an absolute necessity. An aggressive approach is needed to make a more aggressive defense.

Here’s my pitch… If I was Harbaugh, I would give Rex Ryan a call. Ryan is a coach that Harbaugh has worked with before so there is already some sort of relationship between the two. Ryan was the New York Jets’ head coach from 2009-2014. He was at the helm of the Buffalo Bills from 2015-2016. Say what you want about Ryan as a head coach, but he got these chances by being one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. Ryan is only 61, and has expressed desire to return to the coaching ranks.

Rex Ryan on coaching again in the NFL: ‘Hell yeah, I want to go back’ https://t.co/HiYlm5MTSJ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 23, 2024

This could be the twist the Ravens season desperately needs.

The Ravens have a 2023 All-Pro at every level of the defense (Nnamdi Madubuike, Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton). Talent isn’t a question. They need a coach that knows how to deal with that kind of talent. In Baltimore, Ryan magnified the benefits of having Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. With the Jets, he built his defense around Bart Scott, Darrelle Revis, and Antonio Cromartie. Ryan struggled to find a quarterback and as a head coach his charisma faded when his good but quarterback-less teams struggled. The Ravens don’t need him as a head coach though. They need the experienced defensive play-caller who knows how to get the best out of his superstar talent.

Ryan is an aggressive defensive coordinator. He could bring a new life into the defense. He could come up with creative ways to get pressure on quarterbacks. He would come up with nuanced uses for Hamilton and he’d consider Trenton Simpson the ultimate athlete to do the varied things that need to get done in his defensive attack. The defense under Orr feels like it’s too basic and too soft. The unit needs to take back that physical, nasty and fierce legacy that made Baltimore famous for its defense. If the defense were to emulate Ryan’s attack-oriented mindset, it could change everything.

Orr doesn’t have to be fired, and he doesn’t need to be spoiled goods as a coach. Orr, who is just 32 years old, can coach the linebackers and build up some much needed experience. Ryan can even take him under his wing and have a co-defensive coordinator thing going on. It sounds kind of crazy, yet it makes a ton of sense. This isn’t personal, even if it feels unsavory for Orr, it’s just building the best chances for the Ravens to win the Super Bowl in a year where they have t the offense for it.

The Ravens need to change things up. They need somebody who has been in a ton of tough situations to become their new defensive coordinator. The Ravens have a problem. It’s hard to imagine that Ryan would see worse results than what we’re seeing from Orr so it’s worth a try.

The last time we saw Ryan as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, he was calling the plays for a top-five defense in the NFL.

Of course, I know this is unlikely. Ryan famously wanted the Ravens head coaching job that went to Harbaugh all those years ago. But time heals all wounds, right?

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2024/10/28/street-talk/rex-ryan-reunion/