San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans is headed to the Houston Texans as their next head coach. It’s a move that’s long been expected, but couldn’t have been made official until San Francisco’s season came to an end.
Once the 49ers fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, the writing was on the wall.
San Francisco now needs to find another defensive coordinator to replace a man in Ryans who led the No. 1 unit in the NFL this past regular season. For head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co., whoever is brought on will be the 49ers’ third defensive coordinator in four years. Below, we look at four options to man that all-important position.
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San Francisco 49ers hire Steve Wilks
The San Francisco 49ers have already put in a request to interview Wilks for their defensive coordinator opening. Wilks served as the Carolina Panthers’ interim head coach last season folowing the firing of Matt Rhule. He led the team to a surprise 6-6 record and is one of the most-respected defensive minds in the game.
Wilks, 53, began his NFL coaching career with Washington back in 2005. He served as the defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears (2006-08) and then-San Diego Chargers (2009-11) before joining Ron Rivera’s staff with the Carolina Panthers. Getting someone experienced to run this side of the ball could be key for Kyle Shanahan and Co.
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Brian Flores heads to Northern California
This one almost makes too much sense. Also a candidate for head coach openings around the league, Flores is among the most-respected defensive minds in the game. Sure his ongoing lawsuit against the NFL complicates things. But it’s now clear that teams are willing to overlook that.
Flores worked under Bill Belichick with the New England Patritos from 2004-18 before taking over as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach in 2019. Despite a lack of talent on defense, the 2020 Dolphins finished yielding the sixth-fewest points in the NFL.
After being fired by Miami, Flores worked closely with another respected head coach in that of Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh last season. He’d be an ideal fit for the San Francisco 49ers.
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San Francisco 49ers bring in Marquand Manuel
Familiarity is important for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. It’s in this that bringing in someone he worked with during the head coach’s two-year run as the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator makes sense. A former NFL defensive back, Manuel served as Atlanta’s secondary coach for those two seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator.
After finishing in the top-10 in both points allowed and total yards in his first season as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator, that unit fell off the map in 2018. Manuel than served as the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary coach in 2020 and has spent the past two seasons working with Robert Saleh in that same role with the New York Jets. Familiarity and experience. These are two keys as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator situation plays out.
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49ers go big-game hunting with Ejiro Evero
Evero, 42, is a candidate for multiple head coach openings. Whether that actually materializes after his Denver Broncos defense performed well in 2022 remains to be seen. What we do know is that he’s unlikely to be back in Denver as the team looks to hire a head coach to replace Nathaniel Hackett on a full-time basis.
This would absolutely be a home run hire for San Francisco. He worked as an offensive and defensive assistant with the 49ers from 2011-15. Evero also served as the Los Angeles Rams’ safeties coach from 2017-20 before taking over as the defensive passing-game coordinator under Sean McVay in 2021. This past season saw him lead a Broncos defense that ranked seventh in yards allowed.
While hiring Evero would take a huge financial commitment, it would also be a home run hire. The two things holding back this possibility is his candidacy for a head coach job and the fact that being in San Francisco would likely be short-lived.