San Francisco 49ers head coach DeMeco Ryans has reportedly become one of the hottest candidates in the head coach market and has meetings with four teams set for this week.
The 49ers head into the Divisional Round of the 2023 NFL playoffs a serious contender to reach and win the Super Bowl in February. Surely, the play of rookie quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey has been pivotal in their red-hot play over the last month. However, it is their defense that has led them to their current 11-game win streak.
The San Francisco 49ers averaged the fewest yards per game, they were third in takeaways, and led the NFL with a +13 turnover differential. No unit is more ferocious and feared and at the end of the day, they have the ultimate title trump card because the notion that defenses win championships still holds true.
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The mastermind behind this elite unit is two-time Pro Bowler DeMeco Ryans, and it seems that the NFL has taken notice as all of the organizations with head coach openings are interested in acquiring the 38-year-old’s services.
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On Sunday morning ahead of the second set of games on Wild Card Weekend, NFL Network league insider Tom Pelissero gave an update on the head coach searches around the league and explained why the San Francisco 49ers DC has become the hottest name on the market.
“49ers defenseive coordinator DeMeco Ryans is a hot candidate in this head coach hiring cycle. He showed why again yesterday as San Francisco’s defense clamped down to put away the Seahawks in the second half. The Panthers, Broncos, Cardinals, and Texans — Ryans’ old team — all put in a request to speak with him. Expect his interviews, however many he does, to occur at the end of this coming week.”
– Tom Pelissero
DeMeco Ryans is not the only coordinator that has gained a great deal of interest in the last few weeks. Detroit Lions coordinator Ben Johnson has also spoken with several teams in recent days after the Lions O surprised the league to be a premier group in 2022.
This was Ryans’ second season as defensive coordinator and he led the unit to be top three in 2021 as well. They are ranked second in our latest NFL defense rankings.