Scott Petrak

The Gazette

BEREA – Browns fans, meet Rob Ryan, your new defensive coordinator. You’re going to love him.

Ryan has a big gut, long silver hair and a full goatee. He comes from a famous football family, and his dad, Buddy, will be at training camp in August. He looks like he’d love to plop down on the next barstool and enjoy a frosty beverage.

Oh, yeah, he can coach, too. Just ask him.

“Sometimes you just have to be yourself,” he said Wednesday when asked about his style. “I’ve had success coaching college, pro, wherever I’ve been. My guys play hard, they don’t quit.

“We’re going to fight like hell, just like the people in Cleveland would want us to.”

Ryan, 46, was funny and candid in a 20-minute news conference, his first meeting with reporters since being hired Jan. 14. He moved out from behind the podium to answer questions and adjusted his elastic waistband when he really got going.

He said he’ll use his dad’s “46” defense often, he said coach Eric Mangini hasn’t changed since they were defensive assistants under Bill Belichick in New England and he praised holdovers D’Qwell Jackson, Shaun Rogers, Kamerion Wimbley and Eric Wright along with the host of former New York Jets added by Mangini.

“I don’t care if we get ’em from Amsterdam, as long as they can play. And these guys can,” Ryan said. “They’re high-character, tough guys, guys that everybody in Strongsville and Columbia Station — where I live — are going to be proud of. Guys that are going to give an honest day’s work, and hopefully knock the teeth out of somebody.”

But he’s not all handshakes and backslaps.

“Quit (screwing) up my drill,” Ryan, who isn’t afraid to drop an expletive, said last week during a minicamp practice. “Rookie, do it again. Get your head in front and unload on him.”

Jackson is on his third defensive coordinator in three years — Todd Grantham and Mel Tucker — and is already a fan of Ryan.

“He wants us to make plays, he puts us in the best position to make plays, he takes the input,” Jackson said last week. “What I’ve gotten from Coach Rob is he understands players make plays in this league.”

The Browns didn’t make nearly enough plays in 2008. They ranked 26th in total defense, 28th against the run and tied for 30th with 17 sacks.

“I’m so excited about being here,” Ryan said. “Being matched up with Eric, that’s exciting to me. Then I see some talent, ‘Ah, (shoot), this is going to be great.’ With good players, I usually do pretty well.”

Ryan has been a coach for 22 years. He’s been around X’s and O’s forever.

Buddy might be the most famous defensive coach of all time, and is certainly one of the most influential in NFL history. He was an assistant with the Jets when they shocked the Baltimore Colts to win Super Bowl III, coordinator of the Vikings’ Purple People Eaters in the 1970s and mastermind of the “46” Bears defense that spearheaded a Super Bowl win in 1985.

Rob’s twin brother, Rex, replaced Mangini as head coach of the Jets in January after running the Ravens defense for years.

“Bottom line, it is a great life, especially for boys growing up,” Rob said. “You idolize your father and we wanted to be like him.

“We were interested in the strategy of the game, more so than playing. We played, but weren’t Tarzan by any stretch.”

Buddy was a head coach for seven years in Philadelphia and Arizona. No quarterback was safe with Buddy calling the plays, especially when he had Richard Dent, Mike Singletary and Wilber Marshall attacking at every turn with Chicago.

“It’s a great style of play, it’s fun for fans,” Rob Ryan said. “What pressure does is causes people to turn the ball over. To me, that’s the most important thing, getting turnovers and keeping points off the scoreboard.”

Ryan said the Browns will use the “46” a lot.

“Eric is a huge fan,” Ryan said. “He’s the one that got it into New England and we had so much success with it there.

“I know one thing: What we’re going to have in Cleveland is an attacking defense, it’s going to be an exciting defense and we’re going to play great football.”

Rob coached with Buddy in Arizona, then went back to the college ranks. After three years as defensive coordinator of Oklahoma State from 1997-99, he returned to the NFL with the Patriots. That’s where Ryan and Mangini formed a friendship, as Ryan coached linebackers and Mangini defensive backs.

Ryan left the Patriots and spent the last five years as Raiders defensive coordinator with mixed results for a dysfunctional organization. Now, he’s back with Mangini.

While some reports say Mangini’s ego has grown along with his resume, Ryan said he’s the same deep-thinking, hard-working guy he’s always been. He was especially complimentary of Mangini’s motivational skills, which included getting Ryan to work out 162 straight days.

“His leadership is phenomenal. People don’t realize,” he said. “I’m not exactly a box of chocolates and he had me looking like a box of chocolates. He can motivate you into doing things you don’t want to do.

“He’s just a grinder. He brings the best out of me and he’ll bring the best out of every player on the team. He hasn’t changed a bit. He’s so relentless that he makes you win.”

Ryan was really on a roll now.

“Eric probably had more to do with us having success in New England than probably anybody, besides Tom Brady,” he said, dismissing Belichick. “He’s that good of a coach.”

Ryan’s workout streak stands at zero days, and he said he’s waiting for training camp to begin another streak. But he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

“I’ll lose 100 pounds if it means we’ll win a Super Bowl,” he said. “I’ll be out there jogging.”

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.