Brandon Carr 'taken aback' by Rob Ryan firing

Brandon Carr 'taken aback' by Rob Ryan firing

Published Jan. 8, 2013 8:06 p.m. ET

Only minutes before doing a scheduled radio interview on Tuesday night in Dallas, Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr found out defensive coordinator Rob Ryan had been fired.
 
Carr, who recently finished his first season with the Cowboys, called the move "a big surprise" and added that he was "taken aback" by the announcement that Ryan was released.
 
"I'm trying to gather my thoughts," Carr said on 103.3 KESN-FM.
 
The Cowboys lost five defensive starters throughout the season because of injury and the group was never the same during the second half of the year. Ryan was forced to make adjustments and adapt to free-agent players taking on significant roles.
 
Some Cowboys defenders struggled learning Ryan's technical scheme when he first arrived in Dallas two seasons ago. But Carr said that wasn't the case this past season with a simplified game plan.
 
"We were (comfortable)," Carr said. "We were on board with it. We gave him our input as far as what we wanted in the game plan. He tried his best to compromise and make those things work so we could play fast and be at our best on Sundays."
 
Carr said the defensive players started jelling toward the end of the season and showed that they are close to turning the corner. But Carr also added that he's excited about what a new defensive coordinator may bring.
 
"With the changes happening now, it's interesting to see which way we go or who's the next person to step in," Carr said. "This year has to be the year. There's no excuses. Hopefully guys come back healthy with a chip on their shoulder."
 
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota

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