SF 49ers: 3 things to know about new DC DeMeco Ryans
No. 1: Coaching Since 2017
DeMeco Ryans sat out the whole 2016 NFL season after his playing career had ended. But he returned in 2017 to join first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan’s staff as a defensive quality control coach with San Francisco.
In 2018, he was promoted to inside linebackers coach, leading the position group in which he made a name for himself in his playing days.
In that same 2018 season, he began working with rookie linebacker Fred Warner. After three seasons of coaching up Warner, Ryans has turned him into a Pro Bowl and All-Pro level player, and truly one of the best linebackers in the league.
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Now, Ryans takes over a defensive group that includes some dynamic young talent like Warner as well as explosive defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Javon Kinlaw. He has his work cut out for him, but seeing the great group of players he has to work with, the sky is the limit for what he can achieve in year one.