One of the most noteworthy members of the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff has been DeMeco Ryans. After finishing his playing career with the Houston Texans, Ryans has quietly been paying his dues in the coaching ranks and in 2018 finally got his first assignment as a position coach, coaching linebackers for the 49ers.
Ryans was one of the few holdovers from Chip Kelly’s coaching staff and for good reason—Kelly considered Ryans a potential head coach one day. Now Kelly’s evaluation of coaches can be interpreted by anyone, but it wasn’t just him heaping the praise.