Vic Fangio or bust? How do 49ers replace DeMeco Ryans?

The 49ers are fully prepared to watch defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans become a head coach elsewhere, but how do the Niners replace him?

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan must be getting used to watching his assistants and coordinators take on bigger jobs elsewhere.

After the 2020 season, Shanahan watched his former defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, accept a job as head coach of the New York Jets. A year later, former Niners offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel left to assume a head-coaching role with the Miami Dolphins.

Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans is departing, too, landing with the Houston Texans as their next head coach.

San Francisco is perfectly anticipating this. After all, it’s no surprise in the wake of Ryans engineering the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense over the course of 2022, one that only improved from Ryans’ first year as coordinator back in 2021.

However, what’s the plan for Shanahan and Co. to replace Ryans?

Can Kyle Shanahan, 49ers lure back Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator?

A familiar name to the 49ers, former Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio is arguably the most popular name among coordinating circles.

Perhaps no head coach, but as a defensive coordinator, Fangio remains elite. And his stint under former Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh between 2011 and 2014 should invoke some positive memories, too.

Fangio spent some time with Shanahan last offseason, observing San Francisco’s offseason workouts. With the knowledge that Ryans would be a hot head-coaching candidate in 2023, it wasn’t too far-fetched to assume Fangio would be a target.

Instead, though, reports surfaced that McDaniel and the Dolphins would ultimately lure Fangio over instead of the 49ers.

Bucking those reports, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver subsequently reported that Fangio remained undecided about taking the job in Miami, which points to the Niners’ presumed vacancy being in play still:

For what it's worth, Vic Fangio told me late last night, "Nothing has been decided on my end." There is a huge amount of mutual respect between Kyle Shanahan and Fangio, a highly successful Niners DC under Jim Harbaugh. And it appears the 49ers will have an opening soon.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 30, 2023

Of course, landing Fangio won’t be a guaranteed option even if he rebuffs the Dolphins. It’s just as possible he’s using San Franciso’s soon-to-be void as leverage to earn more cash from Miami, or whatever other opening he’s considering.

If Fangio does onboard with the 49ers, though, he’ll likely bring aboard the 3-4 base defense he used previously in his earlier stints.

The Niners have run a 4-3 base since Shanahan took over with Saleh back in 2017.

Those are relatively minor questions, though, and San Francisco would still be in excellent shape if Fangio elects to return to the Bay Area.

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