SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It didn’t take long for the San Francisco 49ers to settle on Robert Saleh’s replacement after he took the head coaching job with the New York Jets last month.
San Francisco quickly settled on linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans to replace Saleh, choosing continuity by hiring from within rather than looking outside the organization. His hire was made official by the team Jan. 18, after Saleh was hired by New York.
The decision to promote Ryans is logical on multiple fronts. First, it allows the 49ers to keep their scheme and defensive philosophy that’s been successful the last two seasons intact. Second, with the pandemic still impacting the league and likely forcing teams to cancel their offseason programs, players won’t have to worry about learning a new playbook virtually.
“I think it makes a ton of sense. I think it’ll be helpful,” free agent cornerback Richard Sherman told The Bee in a recent phone interview. “In terms of it being a pandemic and you not having all the necessary, the optimal conditions, to really teach under. I think having somebody who’s been in the scheme, who understands it, having players that have played for the man, his relationship with Fred (Warner), being the “mike” linebacker, who he communicates with every play of the game, is going to go a long way.”
Sherman is expected to be on his way out of San Francisco after three seasons when he joined the team as a free agent before the 2018 season. He became familiar with Ryans during his time there as a defensive captain. It’s been clear since Saleh first emerged as a head coaching candidate during the 2019 season that Ryans was a viable replacement.
“I think he’s going to do great,” Sherman told The Bee. “I think he’s a guy that works hard in his preparation, very detailed, really takes time with each one of his guys in the linebacker room especially, and gets to know them. And I think that’s going bode well for him when he’s managing all of the defense and really knowing the strengths and weaknesses of his players and emphasizing their strengths.”
Ryans, 36, joined the 49ers as a quality control coach in 2017 before getting promoted to linebackers coach a year later. He’s been instrumental in the development of star linebacker Fred Warner and up-and-comer Dre Greenlaw, who made a sizable impact on the defense as a rookie in 2019, which included his famous tackle in Week 17 in Seattle that secured the No. 1 seed for the postseason. Ryans scouted and communicated with both players during the drafted processes in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Ryans, of course, was a two-time Pro Bowler during his 10 NFL seasons from 2006 to 2015 as a linebacker, which included winning defensive rookie of the year with the Houston Texans after being the first pick of the second round out of Alabama. He made 970 combined tackles in 140 games while starting every contest but one. He also had seven interceptions, seven forced fumbles and 13.5 sacks.
“He’s one of those guys that can break it down to where you understand it and he does a good job of just explaining exactly what he wants out of you. And he’s a players’ coach too,” Greenlaw said in December. “Everybody loves DeMeco just because you know he’s going to coach you hard and sometimes you ain’t going to like it, but at the same time he’s going to motivate you and tell you, ‘good job’ whenever you do something good. To have a coach that can give you the good and the bad, and just have your back through whatever, that makes him a perfect D-coordinator, I feel like.”
Ryans has big shoes to fill. San Francisco finished fifth in overall defense in 2020, allowing 314 yards per game despite being without Sherman and top pass rushers Nick Bosa (torn ACL) and Dee Ford (back) for sizable chunks of the season. Additionally, star defensive tackle and team captain DeForest Buckner was traded to the Indianapolis Colts. A fully healthy 49ers defense in 2019 finished with the best passing yards per game average in a decade en route to the Super Bowl appearance against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Among Ryans’ top objectives in his elevated role will be getting production from a retooled secondary. Sherman is one of the team’s four top cornerbacks slated for free agency in March, joining talented slot corner K’Waun Williams, Jason Verrett and Ahkello Witherspoon. Emmanuel Moseley, who is an option to replace Williams in the slot, is a restricted free agent the team is expected to retain.
