HOUSTON – Once DeMeco Ryans decided he wanted to be a coach, the former Pro Bowl linebacker ran a fast track to emerge as the Texans’ sixth coach in franchise history.
Hired initially as a defensive quality control coach by the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, Ryans was quickly promoted to linebackers coach and then defensive coordinator by Kyle Shanahan as the replacement for Robert Saleh. Named the NFL Assistant Coach of the Year the architect of the 49ers’ top-ranked defense, Ryans was hired by the Texans as the replacement for Lovie Smith.
Recommended Videos
Since his arrival, Ryans, 41, has galvanized the franchise with consecutive AFC South division titles, a pair of playoff wins and an overall winning mark of 24-20 in the regular season and playoffs.
“Working with Saleh was truly a blessing,” Ryans said. “From the standpoint of a young guy like myself coming in and coaching, thinking you know a lot about playing ball, and you think you know a lot about coaching. Working with Robert, he truly showed me what it takes to coach: the detail, the fine details, the small things that it takes as a coach. How you have to be deliberate in your preparation. How are you saying things to players? Not just relaying a lot of information to them, but how are you truly teaching it? How do you understand each guy in your room? How do you teach it different?
“Some guys may need more walkthrough or some guys you can tell them one time. Some guys need to write it down. So, Robert Saleh, he taught me all of that of what it takes to be a good coach. I’m so blessed and thankful to have learned under him, because he’s such a meticulous, detailed person. Not just in coaching, but in life. I’ve learned a lot from him and I’m thankful for all the things that he’s taught me. It’s the reason why I’m here right now, because he spent the time to teach me those things.”
The Texans are off to a rocky start this season with a 2-4 record heading into a Sunday reunion for Ryans against the 49ers and his former colleagues at NRG Stadium. The teaching element Ryans gained as a young assistant coach from Saleh, Shanahan and linebackers coach Johnny Holland remains significant in terms of knowledge and emotions in his coaching journey.
With the Texans, Ryans was a NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
With the 49ers, Ryans gained the experience he needed to become an NFL head coach.
“I can’t mention Saleh without mentioning Johnny Holland, who allowed me to teach in a room,” Ryans said. “He gave me the leeway to lead, and he taught me and allowed me to make mistakes along the way. He allowed me to grow and develop under him. I’m thankful for both of those guys.”
Shanahan was an early believer in Ryans, who was a player in Houston when Shanahan was coaching the Texans’ receivers under Gary Kubiak.
“I’d be remiss not to mention Kyle Shanahan, for what he’s done for me and my career,” Ryans said. “I remember sitting down in his office one day, and he told me, ‘Dude, you can be a head coach in this league.’ I was kind of shocked by him, because no one had ever said that to me before. Ton of respect for Kyle and what he’s done, what he’s taught me throughout my career.
“I can’t thank him enough for that and just believing in me when nobody knew about me. Kyle was the guy who believed in me. It just shows you speak life into people. Your words mean a lot. What he said to me, and to see it come true now, means a lot to me. For me, that’s what I’m always doing, just trying to speak life into people, speak life into others, be positive about attacking each and every day.”
Ryans joined Shanahan’s first coaching staff in San Francisco .
“It shows that Kyle is such a great person,” Ryans said. “Love him and his wife (Mandy), they’re great friends of ours. They do it the right way.”
Ryans’ success isn’t a surprise to Shanahan. He saw the leadership potential a long time ago.
“I always knew DeMeco was like that,” Shanahan said. “Even as a player, but just the way he has carried himself his whole career and how consistent he is as a human. Always knew how good of a coach he’d be if he wanted to do it.
“I probably was saying that because I didn’t want him to leave right away and tell him like, ‘Dude, don’t just go jump at a job. Like, you’re going to be a head coach. Make sure you get the right one and stuff because you don’t have to just take one and take one.’ That was probably my biggest advice to him.”
What Shanahan identified in Ryans is the same thing the Texans and Kubiak saw in him decades ago as a second-round draft pick out of Alabama.
“He truly meant it,” Ryans said. “I guess he was encouraged by the way that I worked and how I went about my business. I like to work behind the scenes, and I was just trying to find a way to make sure my linebackers played the best in the NFL. That was all I was concerned about.
“I wasn’t concerned about climbing a ladder or accolades or money. I wasn’t concerned about that. I was just concerned that owning the little things that I had control over and that was just coaching my small group, making sure they knew what to do, making sure they did it the best in the league.”
Ryans’ defense is ranked first in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing just 88 points this season for a 14.7 average per contest.
The 49ers’ defense led by Saleh, whose defenses have twice stymied the Texans during his time with the New York Jets, even after his firing last year when they continued running the scheme he installed.
Despite suffering season-ending injuries to defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, the 49ers defense remains formidable. They’re seventh in scoring defense, 14th overall and are led in sacks by Bryce Huff with four as they’ve plugged in new personnel.
“The 49ers, what Robert has brought to that defense, he’s brought some consistency,” Ryans said. “Even though he has a really young group, he has those guys playing the right way. They’re going to play hard, they’re going to finish, they’re attacking the ball, they’re all about the right stuff. They’re going to play with tremendous effort. You see a young group on tape who’s consistently gotten better from the first game of the season to now.
“You see just his stamp on it and that’s about being on the details and the small things. They’re getting better, they’re going to play hard, they’re going to be where they’re supposed to be. There won’t be many surprises. You’re going to have to outwork them. They’re going to try to eliminate explosive plays, and we got to do a great job of driving the field on them.”
Before Ryans took the job in Houston, Shanahan expressed confidence in how he would perform in that role.
“I think DeMeco will be as good as he is in everything he’s done his whole life,” Shanahan told KPRC 2. “Start with Rookie of the Year, being the captain of the team. He was our coordinator in three years. He became a head coach in two years. Everything DeMeco has done, he’s done at an extremely high level and Houston is very fortunate to have him.”
“You know people and you know people who have that ability that charisma, people who have that work ethic and DeMeco has always had the full package. Whatever he decided to do in life, he was going to find a way to get to the pinnacle of that profession.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com