17 Feb Was Instantly Promoting Demeco Ryans the Right Choice?

Feb 17, 2021/By: Esteban Said

After a harsh and tough season for the 49ers, Robert Saleh, was hired by the Jets as their Head Coach. The 49ers former Defensive Coordinator had brought moments of greatness and excitement to all 49ers fans, but sadly it had to come to an end. Former linebacker, and linebacker coach, DeMeco Ryans, was instantly promoted as the 49ers new Defensive Coordinator. Some have doubts about him, and are wondering if the 49ers made the right decision in instantly promoting him.

The 49ers, as soon as Saleh left, upgraded DeMeco to DC, without consulting any other options. Some of the other alternatives could have been: Wade Phillips; former Rams DC, Marvin Lewis; former Bengals HC, Gregg Williams; former Jets DC, and some more. 49ers star linebacker, Fred Warner, is very high on the new promotion as he said on 49ers Talk : “I know he’s [DeMeco Ryans] more prepared and ready to take that over and do a great job.” DeMeco worked with Warner since 2018 as the linebacker coach, and Warner has shown nothing but excellence. Fred Warner got drafted by the 49ers in 2018, the same year DeMeco got appointed as the 49ers Linebacker Coach. Since then we have seen Warner grow into one of the most dominant and best linebackers in the league.

How will this affect the 49ers?

DeMeco Ryans has had 4 years of experience with the 49ers being the Defensive Quality Control Coach (2017) and the Linebacker Coach (2018-2020). In these years he has shown to develop many players into great players, especially in the linebacker spots. These include: Dre Greenlaw, Fred Warner, Kwon Alexander, and Azeez Al-Shaair, who have all become spectacular players.

DeMeco Ryans has been Fred’s Linebacker Coach since day one, which certainly has helped Warner reach new levels, including becoming the best coverage linebacker in the league. DeMeco also got to work with Dre as he was drafted in 2019, who is starting to show to be a great player, making big plays like the goal-line stop against the Seahawks in their 2019/20 Super Bowl run. With Kwon Alexander recently being traded to the Saints, Al-Shaair became a starter, surprising many fans with his great plays, and his instant impact since he started playing.

DeMeco has shown to be a great coach, and had a hand in improving numerous players. With four years experience with the 49ers, he could possibly be the best option presented to the team. DeMeco’s connection with the players is evident, which could help immensely as he takes over the reigns for the entire defense. Saleh’s departure is conspicuously a big loss, but DeMeco Ryans is likely the best replacement available for the 49ers, and could end up being much better than anyone would expect.