The Houston Texans appear poised to make a major move.
Houston will ramp up their pursuit of hot coaching candidate DeMeco Ryans. Ryans, a former Texan linebacker, is currently the San Francisco 49ers‘ defensive coordinator.
ESPN NFL insider reported the news on Sunday night. “Houston Texans now are expected to pursue 49ers’ defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to try to make him their next head coach,” Schefter tweeted.
Houston Texans now are expected to pursue 49ers’ defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to try to make him their next head coach.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 29, 2023
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport then tacked on more details. “With the 49ers season over, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans will visit Houston this week for a second interview and if all goes well, he’s expected to become he Texans new head coach,” he tweeted.
With the #49ers season over, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans will visit Houston this week for a second interview and if all goes well, he’s expected to become the #Texans new head coach.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 29, 2023
Ryans is a hot coaching candidate in the NFL world. The Denver Broncos seemed ready to target him late last week. But the Texans may be about to swoop in and grab the accomplished coordinator to bring him back home. They were reported as another frontrunner for the job, pretty much within 24 hours ago. This makes for a pretty hilarious visual, and also shows how sought-after he is.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan hired Ryans in 2017 when he initially joined the team. Ryans served as a defensive quality control coach that first year. Then, he moved on to inside linebackers coach until Shanahan tabbed him as defensive coordinator in 2021. That move came after the previous defensive coordinator, Robert Salah, accepted the head coaching job with the New York Jets.
Ryans played six seasons with the Texans in his career. He won the 2006 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award after a brilliant initial campaign. He played up until 2015, spending his last four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.