Rob Ryan threw Sean Payton under the bus in an interview with Jenny Vrentas of MMQB, but the New Orleans Saints coach refuses to get run over.
Ryan called his two years with the Saints “a waste of time” and said his defense wasn’t quite his own, due to the influence of Payton.
Speaking on Friday morning on PFT Live, Payton essentially laughed at the assertion that Ryan’s defense in New Orleans wasn’t quite his own.
“The idea that it wasn’t his defense, or he wasn’t in charge of it, is silly,” Payton said, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
Then Payton threw Ryan under the bus with a shot against Ryan’s inability to get even the simplest of things right during his tenure in New Orleans.
“When you’re struggling as bad as we’re struggling for two years, and some of the same problems keep coming up — you know, 10 guys on the field — those are things that just are hard to live with,” Payton said.
Lord knows, Saints fans will side with Payton on this topic. In addition to embarrassing moments like having 10 defenders on the field, Ryan’s defenses were among the worst in the league both years he was at the helm. The 2015 passing defense was abominable to the point of potentially being the worst in league history.
Needless to say, it seems clear Payton and Ryan are both glad he’s no longer coaching the defense in New Orleans.