They were average because brain dead owner in Oak, Cle and Dal fired him before Ryan had time to build up on the foundation he put in. NO will keep him and I'm absolutely sure that with support he'll turn them into top 5 D within 2-3 years.
It only took 1 year. The Saints went from historically bad, to 4th rank D in one year. And that is w/o adding any influx of talent, and in midst of scheme change they didn't really have the personnel for. They were letting up over 440 yds per game in 2012, to 305 yds per game in 2013. That is absolutely amazing. and the Cowboys of course went in the opposite direction after letting him go..
So true. But I think, like his daddy Buddy and possibly even Rex, his skills are exclusively on the defensive side of the game.
That's ok though if you pair up with an offensive coordinator that knows his shit... Sean Peyton is an offensive guru and knows nothing about defense... He has Rob as DC to balance that out... The head coach doesn't have to be a master on both sides of the ball.