Rob Ryan was a potential target for attack by two men indicted for very serious crimes, and the story of how police found out about the conspiracy is extremely interesting.
As told by The New Orleans Advocate, a woman who moved to New Orleans last year had a new cell phone and kept receiving phone calls from a local number she did not recognize. The caller even left a voicemail on her phone, and it was in that message that Ryan, who was then the New Orleans Saints’ defensive coordinator, was discussed as a target for a potential ambush.
“He don’t got no security,” said a garbled voice, according to a court document obtained by The New Orleans Advocate. “He’s just a regular football coach. … He ain’t … big … like (rapper) Lil Wayne or nobody … that got bodyguards everywhere.”
The woman turned the voice message over to police, who then alerted Ryan and the Saints. Police also began watching out for Ryan to protect him.
Two men have been jailed and face multiple charges for other alleged crimes. They are suspected of being the ones plotting to hold up Ryan, though a grand jury did not indict them on that specific charge. The phone number that left the voice message traced back to the men.
According to The Advocate, one of the men, Jock Van Norman, was booked in November “on a variety of counts, including armed robbery, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit murder and serving as an accessory to murder.”
The other man, Alz Quinn, “was jailed Aug. 23 on a variety of counts as well, including armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted murder.”
Ryan was fired in Nov. as defensive coordinator of the Saints. It appears he never was held up or attacked by anyone.
