The Dallas Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

Ryan was let go after the Cowboys missed the postseason for a third consecutive year. His firing ends a two-year tenure with the team.
Under Ryan's tutelage, the Cowboys ranked among the league's top 20 total defenses, placing 14th in 2011 but slipping to 19th in 2012, perhaps in large part as a result of injuries to many of Dallas' key defensive players.
Ryan becomes the second casualty of the Cowboys' coaching staff. Running backs coach Skip Peete was fired on Monday.

Henrik Zetterberg packed his bags, returned to his native Sweden, then flew straight to Detroit. A day later, he was back in familiar surroundings.Zetterberg joined what has become a growing bunch of Detroit Red Wings today in Troy, skating with them during an informal practice less than 24 hours after returning from Europe. Valtteri Filppula also was among the new faces. He hurt his right knee two months ago in Finland but said he's nearly fully healthy and he doesn't expect to miss any games. The Wings are still waiting for their schedule, which isn't likely to be released before Saturday. Owners approved the new collective bargaining agreement Wednesday, but players don't start two days of voting until Friday.The Wings expect to start a 48-game season . Their home opener has changed numerous times, with the most recent date being Jan. 22. Training camps won't open before Sunday, and perhaps not until Monday. The Wings have a lot to do before the season starts, including holding a retirement news conference for Tomas Holmstrom and another news conference anointing Zetterberg the new captain. Zetterberg didn't want to say much on that matter, because it's not yet official. But he admitted "it will be a great honor." Zetterberg has been in regular contact with good friend and linemate Pavel Datsyuk, who is to play in the KHL All-Star Game."We've talked a little bit," Zetterberg said. "I think he looks forward to coming over here; he just has to finish some business over there and then he will come. I've seen a lot of games, because, basically, we were in same time zone. So I've seen him play. He looks good. He looks like he had a lot of fun, and he will probably bring that joy when he comes over here."Datsyuk delivered during the weekend, reaching behind him to tuck the puck into the net on a shoot-out move. "I will say he was a little lucky," Zetterberg said, laughing.Zetterberg spent the lockout playing for Zug in Switzerland. When he heard Sunday afternoon that the NHL labor dispute was over after 113 days, he made a brief stopover in his native Sweden. As great a time as he had in Switzerland, he misses Joe Louis Arena. "Just the small things," Zetterberg said. "The music in the commercial breaks, seeing the fans getting loud. Those are the things that you want to get back to."Apparently, the music selection in Switzerland was entirely German. Speaking of Switzerland, did Zetterberg bring back Toblerone chocolates for his teammates? Yes ... and no."I ate them all," he said. Contact Helene St. James: 313-222-2295 or hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter .

Ryan and the Falcons are positioned as the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the second time in three years. Despite the top spot, the Falcons were humiliated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Packers 48-21 in the divisional round two years ago. Last year, the Giants thumped them 24-2 in a wild-card game. Ryan and the Falcons lost to the Cardinals in a wild card at the end of his rookie season.Owner Arthur Blank obviously wants to see more from the Falcons, as do general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith. The Falcons are in a position where they need to deliver. Ryan has won 56 regular-season games since '08, more than any other NFL quarterback. He enters these playoffs coming off a career year with highs in passer rating (99.1), yards (4,719), touchdowns (32) and completion percentage (68.6). If he can't deliver now, Ryan is going to carry an enormous collar of being a playoff choker."I don't worry about it," Ryan said. "I don't think about it. We've worked really hard during the course of the offseason and through training camp and OTA's to get ourselves an opportunity to be playing at this time of year. We want to play our best football and really that's the only thing I'm worried about. Trying to do whatever we can do to play our best football Sunday."Ryan says he learned "tons" from his three previous playoff experiences but he's down basically to spitting out cliches about opportunities present and past."Each game comes down to four or five different plays and it comes down to who makes those plays," he said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to make the plays when we need to."The offense is more dynamic this time around under first-year coordinator Dirk Koetter, who came over from the Jaguars. Roddy White leads the team with 1,351 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. In his second season, Julio Jones has made the blockbuster trade to acquire him seem well worth it for Dimitroff. He has 1,198 yards receiving yards and 10 touchdowns and 36-year-old tight end Tony Gonzalez 93 receptions for 930 yards and eight touchdowns in what he says will be his final season. Michael Turner rushed for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns.Gonzalez never has won a playoff game in his storied career. He lost three with the Chiefs and the last two with the Falcons."This is what you work for all season long. It wasn't about getting a bunch of wins, but just enough to get to the playoffs," Gonzalez said. "Luckily, we got a bunch of wins in that process."The Seahawks will be without their top pass rusher Chris Clemons (111/2 sacks) as the defensive end tore up his knee in the wild-card round victory Sunday at Washington. That puts first-round pick Bruce Irvin, a situational pass rusher, in the spotlight on defense.But it has been the other rookie, Wilson, who has carried the surging Seahawks. They are road tested now having won six straight, a streak started in their overtime victory at Soldier Field on Dec. 2. Wilson has a chance to shine above fellow rookies Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, who both lost last weekend."This game is not easy, especially playing quarterback as a rookie," Wilson said. "It's as hard as it gets and you have to mentally be tough. You have to be on a constant quest for knowledge, you have to be a great leader with great attention to detail and you have to have a real competitive nature."That's what I try to bring to the table."All of the pressure is riding on the Falcons."We're a much more mature team because of our experiences," Smith said. "I think you learn from your previous playoffs. This is a team that has been very focused from the beginning of the season."Twitter @BradBiggs


{keyword}