5 reasons why 49ers could win Super Bowl 57 next season
By Peter Panacy
Reason No. 3: DeMeco Ryans is back as 49ers defensive coordinator
There was a good chance the Niners would lose first-year defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who was interviewing for the Minnesota Vikings’ head-coaching vacancy. Yet Ryans declined a second interview, instead electing to stick around with San Francisco for another year to hone his skills and abilities.
Great news.
Again, the 49ers defense is expected to remain mostly intact. There’ll be some changes in the secondary, yes, and it’s a priority for the Niners to re-sign nose tackle D.J. Jones.
Related Story: 4 reasons why DeMeco Ryans impressed us in 2021
But the presence of Nick Bosa, along with defensive tackle Arik Armstead’s most impactful all-around season, combine to mean the defensive front shouldn’t get any weaker. Particularly if defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw can return from a season-ending knee injury in good form.
At any rate, and after some initial struggles last year, Ryans’ defense eventually finished its regular-season campaign with the league’s ninth-best scoring defense and the third-best defense in terms of yards allowed.
Pretty remarkable, considering 2021 marked the first full year of Ryans’ tenure as coordinator.
That full year should account for a lot of growth in Ryans’ own development, pointing to the likelihood of San Francisco’s defense being even more formidable than it was last season.