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Atlanta Falcons to interview Rex Ryan on Tuesday

Dec 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan coaches against the New England Patriots during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Jets 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan coaches against the New England Patriots during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Jets 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Rex Ryan will interview with the Atlanta Falcons for their head coaching vacancy on Tuesday.


The Atlanta Falcons decided to fire head coach Mike Smith after a 6-10 season that ended with a 34-3 loss at the hands of the Carolina Panthers. They are already beginning to look into potential head coaching candidates, and former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan who was recently fired as well appears to be one of the front-runners to land the job.

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Ryan didn’t have much success over the past few seasons with the New York Jets, but he did lead them to two straight AFC Championship games in his first two seasons with the team.

He would bring a defensive mindset to the Falcons, which is exactly what they need. They ranked 32nd in the NFL defensively against the pass and 21st against the run. Those rankings are never going to get the job done, but Ryan’s defensive prowess might be just the extra punch that they need to turn things around.

According to a report from Ian Rapoport, the Falcons will interview Ryan for their head coaching position on Tuesday.

A change of scenery could be exactly what Ryan has needed to turn things back around. The Falcons have plenty of talent, but they haven’t been able to put everything together over the past couple of seasons.

Part of the issues was with Smith and the coaching staff, but the Falcons will also need to spend some money to bring in more defensive help. Ryan’s new system would fit in with what Atlanta needs, and he would command the respect of everyone in that locker room.

It will be interesting to hear how the interview goes, but at this point in time the Falcons appear to be a very good potential fit for Ryan.

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