Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan became a folk hero during his first season in New Orleans. He’s a free spirit who did a helluva job transforming the Saints D from historically horrendous to pretty darn good. Saints fans were further swept off their feet by Ryan’s showing up at local bars after home wins to buy a round for the house. The picture above is of Ryan at Ms. Mae’s, which is a semi-legendary Uptown bar that’s about 5 blocks from Adrastos World HQ. The picture was snapped by one of my Twitter pals, Chef Mary Sonnier.
But the main reason Rob Ryan became a folk hero in my town is his hair. Big hair, long hair. Rob Ryan’s hair has its own Facebook page and Twitter feed. Apparently the suits at the No Fun League think that Rob Ryan’s leonine tresses are an impediment to professional advancement:
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said several NFL executives told him that Ryan’s flowing locks won’t fly with front offices.
“If he wants to be a head coach, he has to cut his hair,”Mortensen said, quoting team executives. “It is about image for these guys. They want a CEO-type. That’s what they want.”
This puts Ryan in a hairy situation. He has the resume and the pedigree to be a head coach (his twin brother, Rex, is the coach of the Jets and his father, Buddy, coached the Eagles and Cardinals). But he may need to shave his locks.
Since Rob Ryan is a bona fide free spirit and non-conformist, I think he’d be crazy to even consider coaching a team run by malakas who would demand he cut his hair. For one thing, that could get him in trouble with David Crosby. For another, he doesn’t want to become the next Samson. We all know what happened to him after his locks were shorn. Besides, Ryan looks nothing like Victor Mature.
I’ll give the Rev. Gary Davis the last word:
