Raiders hire Rob Ryan as senior defensive assistant

Multiple teams courted Rob Ryan this offseason. While the veteran defensive coordinator was on the Giants’ radar, it turns out New York’s former DC Patrick Graham will bring Ryan to Las Vegas.

The Raiders are hiring Ryan for a second time, with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com noting the former Oakland DC is coming to Vegas as a senior defensive assistant. Ryan will help out new Raiders DC Graham.

While this will be Ryan and Graham’s first time working together, the former was on the Patriots staff during new Raiders HC Josh McDaniels‘ early days in New England. Prior to Ryan’s run of DC opportunities, he worked as the Pats linebackers coach from 2000-03. McDaniels was a defensive assistant for the ’02 and ’03 Patriot teams.

Ryan, 59, served as the Raiders’ defensive play-caller for multiple head coaches in the 2000s, staying on as Oakland’s DC from 2004-08. Ryan worked under Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin and Tom Cable. The Raiders gave Ryan his first DC gig. He later landed four more, leading defenses in Cleveland, Dallas, New Orleans and Buffalo. Ryan’s Raiders defenses largely struggled; none ranked inside the top 15 in points allowed. Interestingly, his best unit came for Shell’s 2-14 team in 2006; that Raider unit ranked third in total defense.

A Ryan-Giants partnership emerged as a possibility because of Ryan’s past with new Giants DC Don Martindale, who hired him for his Ravens staff last season. Ryan coached inside linebackers with Baltimore in 2021, doing so after holding the same position in Washington in 2019.