Ryan is a clown. He'll blow his next HC gig too, but he'll be a successful DC for the rest of his career.
Ryan could go either way after this year. I could see a small market team go all out to get him for a HC, but I could also envision a scenario like the 2012/13 offseason where coaches like Lovie end taking a year off before coaching. Some of these guys will take a year, if they get no offers as a HC, & take up a coordinator gig. If Ryan did end up a DC, I think it would only help his chances of getting another HC gig for an attractive franchise.
If Ryan is to be fired after this year, which he probably will, the only HC coaching gigs I could see him landing would be for a small market bottom feeder. If he took one year as a DC, where I believe he would have a lot of success, he could better his chances to coach a more promising franchise, maybe like the Rams when Fisher is finally canned, rather than the usual suspects (Browns, Jags, etc.).
But you never know. A franchise could be right there to pick up a guy like Ryan for a HC gig. Jeff Fisher is living proof that average coaches can last a long time. I just can't understand why Fisher is still a HC. He can miss with drafting young defenders, but where that seems to be a strength for him, it also appears to be his biggest weakness. Sometimes I swear that if Fisher new he could draft 53 DT's & LB's & get away with it he would. In the mean time he has a team with a ton of talent, & all it really needs is a decent QB that can stay healthy & limit mistakes. So of course Fisher picks Aaron Donald for what is already a dominant defensive line.
Anyway, because of guys like Fisher I could see Ryan getting another HC gig right away. But still I wouldn't be shocked if he had to wait a year, & in that case I think that taking a DC position would do him a lot of good. My only knock with a guy like Ryan is that he probably will do very well as a DC. So in that case, he probably would end up coaching again, & wouldn't be around long. I want someone who will be around for a few years to implement a system, acquire/develop talent, & build continuity. Like Bears Bud, I like VanGorder from ND. He runs a helluva defense there & has NFL experience.
When a coach succeeds on either side of the ball in a school like ND, I believe that's showing something. It's just not an easy task to put together a contender at a university with very high academic standards for their athletes. I do believe that it's harder for ND to recruited the types of talents that end up at other schools. So when a team like ND has the type of season that they are, & have had the past few years, to me that can point to coaching & scheming being a large part of their success more so than raw physical talent. I think VanGorder would make an excellent option for a DC with Clements as the HC.
