SF 49ers: 4 reasons why promoting DeMeco Ryans was the right move
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: DeMeco Ryans ‘laced them up’ with the Eagles, Texans
Robert Saleh never played any high level of football. Despite that, and from his budding development as a defensive assistant starting with the Houston Texans in 2007, Saleh was able to gain knowledge of the game over time.
Ryans already has a significant leg up on Saleh.
It’s important to note Ryans carved out a successful 10-year career split between the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles between 2006 and 2015, which included two Pro Bowl appearances.
That’ll help immeasurably. Unlike Saleh, Ryans will know how to do it on the field because he did it.
While being a player doesn’t automatically translate over into coaching success, one could make the argument Ryans’ exposure to four different head coaches during that span also opened him up to a variety of different defensive schemes and approaches. His experience during that time from a player’s perspective should translate well over to how he’ll coach the SF 49ers’ current crop of defensive cast members.