Before this season started, it was assumed that Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan would use the Cowboys job as a stepping stone to joining the ranks of NFL head coach alongside his twin brother Rex and his father Buddy.
And while that is still almost a certainty, it might not happen as quickly as we originally thought.
Ryan will certainly be a head-coaching candidate to any team looking for one in the off-season, but is he ready to make the move up? One local media member says no, and he makes some good points as to why.
ESPNDallas' Tim MacMahon wrote this morning that the Cowboys defense's performance in recent weeks has taken some of the luster off the burly, boisterous coach.
Ryan has most definitely made the Cowboys defense better this season without any notable defensive upgrades in regards to personnel in the off-season, other than the emergence of Sean Lee.
But there's been a lot left to be desired from the unit too.
The past three games have seen mediocre-at-best quarterbacks look like Tom Brady against the Cowboys, especially in the second half of games, guys like Rex Grossman, Matt Moore and Kevin Kolb.
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Guys like that aren't supposed to beat you, but the Cowboys almost let them, and in Kolb's case, there was no "almost" about it.
The unit has also made a bad habit of starting games on fire and not letting offenses do anything only to cave in the second half, and the fourth quarter especially.
So is Ryan going to be a head coach like his brother and dad? Almost certainly. Will it be next year? Not so fast.
