Every story has a beginning, and while it's not inaccurate to say that DeMeco Ryans' football journey can be traced back to the state of Alabama -- where Ryans played both high school and college ball -- or Houston, Texas -- where Ryans spent the first six years of his professional playing career -- Ryans' coaching journey started with the San Francisco 49ers.
Coincidentally, it began alongside the two coaches who will be calling the plays on the opposite sideline this Sunday afternoon when the 5-2 San Francisco 49ers come to town to face the desperate-for-a-win 2-4 Houston Texans.
After being hired as head coach of the 49ers in February 2017, Kyle Shanahan didn't waste time assembling his staff in the Bay Area. Three weeks after he officially got the job, Shanahan added DeMeco Ryans to his staff as an assistant who would be working under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. By the time Saleh had left to become the head coach of the New York Jets, Ryans was ready to step up and take over as San Francisco's defensive coordinator.
Just as it had with Saleh, DeMeco Ryans' experience as the 49ers DC propelled him into head coaching conversations, and when his former NFL team had an opening, Ryans had matured into the ideal candidate.
Now, as Ryans and the Texans prepare to welcome the 49ers to NRG Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the 41-year-old head coach isn't forgetting about his coaching roots.
DeMeco Ryans credits Kyle Shanahan, Robert Saleh for coaching success
“I’d be remiss not to mention Kyle Shanahan, for what he’s done for me and my career,” Ryans said this week, per Joaquin Ruiz of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I remember sitting down in his office one day, and he told me, ‘Dude, you can be a head coach in this league.’ I was kind of shocked by him, because no one had ever said that to me before."
Evidently, in addition to being able to call one hell of an offense, Kyle Shanahan can spot a future head coach a mile away as well. But when Shanahan was asked about this encounter this week, he couldn't remember the exact moment off the top of his head.
“I don't remember the exact specific [story], but I always knew DeMeco was like that,” Shanahan said. "Even as a player. … But, just the way he has carried himself his whole career … and how consistent he is as a human. Always knew how good of a coach he'd be if he wanted to do it."
It helps that Ryans had Shanahan, who is widely regarded as one of the league's top head coaches, to serve as a mentor, in addition to Robert Saleh, who despite his shortcomings as a head coach, has a fairly unassailable track record as a defensive coordinator.
“Working with Saleh was truly a blessing, from the standpoint of a young guy like myself coming into coaching,” Ryans said. “You think you know a lot about playing ball, you think you know a lot about coaching. But working with Robert, he truly showed me what it takes to coach and the detail -- the fine details [and] the small things -- that it takes as a coach.
“How are you saying things to players? … How do you understand each guy in your room? … Robert Saleh taught me all of that … And I’m so blessed and thankful to have learned under him, because he’s such a meticulous, detailed person -- not just in coaching, but just in life.”