\n
Comment on this story<\/title><path d=\"M14 14V2H2v9.47h8.18L12.43 13ZM3 10.52V3h10v9.23l-2.5-1.66Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p>Comment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">SANTA CLARA, Calif. \u2014 It was all so rhythmic, fluid, uncomplicated. The San Francisco 49ers were in cover-four, protecting against a deep pass, and edge rusher Nick Bosa pushed a Seattle offensive lineman toward Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Smith\u2019s pocket collapsed. Defensive tackle Charles Omenihu slid around a blocker and, as Smith stepped forward, reached for the ball, ripping it from Smith\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The 49ers\u2019 defensive coordinator, 38-year-old DeMeco Ryans, was already pacing, yelling, leaping on the sideline. This is what he does. Late in the third quarter, up six on a plucky division rival in last weekend\u2019s opening-round playoff game, San Francisco needed this. Bosa fell on the loose football, and now Ryan \u2014 a rising superstar in coaching and, soon, a litmus test for the NFL\u2019s supposed meritocracy \u2014 was going bonkers: arms raised, smiling wide, waiting for Bosa to reach the sideline so he could jump onto his shoulders and be among the first to celebrate with him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Plays like this \u2014 simple, relentless, ending with a merry sideline party \u2014 have been a hallmark of San Francisco\u2019s season, and of Ryans\u2019s brief but towering rise through the 49ers\u2019 coaching ranks. After taking an entry-level position on Coach Kyle Shanahan\u2019s staff in 2017, Ryans now leads the NFL\u2019s best defense and a group of men who aren\u2019t used to such intense feelings of loyalty and the unbridled joy their coordinator cultivates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cHis passion, his love for the guys \u2014 DeMeco is like your dad. You always want to, like, make him proud,\u201d 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said after his unit\u2019s suffocating second-half performance. \u201cAs a man, as a coach, he has a way of getting guys to buy in and just play with love.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The night before San Francisco\u2019s 41-23 win, Ryans addressed his defense. His message: \u201cSeize the moment.\u201d These big games don\u2019t come often, even during a long playing career, and Ryans learned this during his own 10-year career. But players, acutely aware Ryans is among the hottest names on the head-coaching interview circuit, left with another interpretation: This ride, with a coordinator so young and fun and almost supernaturally gifted, may be approaching its end.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cHe probably gone. It sucks,\u201d linebacker Dre Greenlaw said, shaking his head. \u201cThat\u2019s the thing about this business, man, you ain\u2019t got no control over what happens or when. You\u2019re just thankful for the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Throughout the league\u2019s history, head coaches have neither risen this quickly nor traditionally looked like DeMeco Ryans. Ryans is Black, and the NFL isn\u2019t exactly a place where the sky is the limit for Black coaches, no matter how beloved or skilled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The NFL has adamantly denied that its hiring practices are racist, despite the fact that only two of its 32 teams are currently led by Black men, or that former Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores headlines an ongoing class-action discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, or that a recent Washington Post investigation found that, in a league where nearly 60 percent of the players are Black, teams\u2019<b> <\/b>hiring and firing practices continue to disadvantage Black coaches at every turn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">That includes coaches who eventually do land top jobs: The Houston Texans, where Ryans was drafted and spent six seasons as an overachieving linebacker, hired \u2014 and fired \u2014 David Culley and Lovie Smith, both of whom are Black, following each of the last two seasons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">All five teams with a head-coaching vacancy \u2014 Arizona, Carolina, Denver, Houston and Indianapolis \u2014 have requested interviews with Ryans, who has made clear his desire to one day become a head coach and \u201crepresent,\u201d he told reporters last week, for the many Black coaches who never got such a chance. Each of those franchises has obvious baggage, some more formidable than others. Ryans\u2019s colleagues, players, former teammates and friends are eager, therefore, to see what happens \u2014 and not just from the White billionaires who own the teams looking for a fresh name to offer their marketing departments and toss to their ravenous fan bases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">What will <i>Ryans<\/i> do? He\u2019s a former rookie of the year and two-time Pro Bowler, a licensed minister, \u201ca coach\u2019s dream,\u201d in the words of Reggie Herring, the former Houston linebackers coach. Friends wonder if they\u2019ve ever heard Ryans use a curse word. He\u2019s a family man and philanthropist who, colleagues say, can connect with any player, be they from the inner city, a gated neighborhood or a trailer park. He avoided controversy, saved and donated much of his NFL money, leads multiple charitable and community efforts. Just five years into coaching, he\u2019s pretty good at the football thing, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">It all leads to an interesting question: With Ryans\u2019s bona fides unquestioned, his credibility unmatched and his reputation unimpeachable, is it possible the best Black coach on the market is too good to be the face of a bad organization \u2014 the latest pawn in a corporate game of sociopolitical chess?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cHe does everything right,\u201d said N.D. Kalu, who played for the Texans alongside Ryans. \u201cLet me just say there are some jobs I hope he <i>doesn\u2019t<\/i> get.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Six years ago, Ryans regularly met with friends to discuss his post-NFL future. People always said he\u2019d be successful at whichever path he chose, but that\u2019s of no help when you\u2019re 32, retired from the only job you\u2019ve ever had, and idling at a crossroads. He volunteered sometimes with high school football teams, and throughout the 2016 NFL season, he made regular appearances on a Houston sports-radio show to analyze the Texans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">His mother believed he belonged not on a sideline or behind a microphone, but as pastor of the Church of Christ in Bessemer, Ala., the historically segregated Birmingham suburb where Ryans grew up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIf he doesn\u2019t make it in the NFL,\u201d Martha Ryans says even now, \u201cI would love for him to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The once-shy young man delivered his first sermon one Sunday night when he was 14. During his playing days, he\u2019d surprise congregations as guest minister. He always liked to please his mama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">She had been the only woman working the Bessemer steel mill, pouring liquid fire into molds and showing the men how to lift machinery without wrenching their backs. Martha cleaned houses at night and the church on weekends, picking up occasional hours at a plastics plant nearby. She raised four children by herself, making it work in a neighborhood called The Hill. Up the way were the well-to-do folks, and down the road were the housing projects. The Ryans lived somewhere in between, and DeMeco noticed when his mother invited kids from either direction to come in, help themselves to whatever food they had, hold a conversation, even gather around the family TV when she headed out for yet another shift.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cI just want to be able to tell her to quit, because I hate it for her,\u201d Ryans told reporters in 2005, during his senior season at Alabama. \u201cEverybody wants to take care of their mom.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The NFL didn\u2019t seem especially viable then, even as he anchored the nation\u2019s best defense and was named a first-team all-American. His size, 6-feet-1 and 236 pounds, was unremarkable, his 40-time a pedestrian 4.65 seconds, his agility blah. During the speed-dating session that is combine interviews, Houston linebackers coach Johnny Holland sat next to Ryans. Who were the Crimson Tide defenders the Texans should consider drafting? Holland asked. Ryans rattled off names, omitting his own.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The coach nodded, having already learned of Ryans\u2019s humility. And that he\u2019d made the dean\u2019s list four times, volunteered at a hospital and local schools, graduated cum laude a semester early, was nicknamed \u201cCoach\u201d by teammates because he\u2019d scold them for leaving trash on the locker room floor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Houston drafted him with the top pick in the second round in 2006, and he led the league in solo tackles and was named defensive rookie of the year. He studied and absorbed information like a coach, showing teammates the right way to sharpen their technique and footwork and instincts. Holland wasn\u2019t the only person to suggest Ryans someday pursue a career in coaching, but he rolled his eyes at the suggestion then.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cMeco wasn\u2019t blessed with great physical traits,\u201d former Texans assistant Vance Joseph said. \u201cBut his mind \u2014 his football IQ \u2014 was <i>so<\/i> fast. A super, super bright guy, super hard worker \u2014 all those things you want a player to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Ryans spent his downtime earning his minister\u2019s license, establishing a youth program at the Fifth Ward Church of Christ, working with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston. When he signed a six-year contract extension worth up to $48 million, he bought his mother a house, donated $300,000 to Alabama\u2019s business school to endow a scholarship, pledged his daily meal allowance to disaster relief. He established a foundation aimed at empowering underprivileged children, spent time at a youth program at a local church connecting with so many kids, from both up the hill and down, that even those closest to him sometimes had no idea where \u2014 or to whom \u2014 his money was going.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cHe was never the guy with the big gold chain,\u201d former teammate Kalu said. \u201cIf he had an earring, I don\u2019t remember it. The guy made good money, but he had a regular, nice SUV.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Former Texans coach Gary Kubiak put it a bit differently: \u201cDeMeco\u2019s just got his s— together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">In 2012, Houston traded Ryans to Philadelphia, where he battled injuries and played for four White head coaches. When teammate Riley Cooper was caught on video using a racial slur, Ryans publicly defended him. After former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy said Eagles Coach Chip Kelly \u201cgot rid of all the Black players \u2014 the good ones,\u201d Ryans used the opportunity to highlight McCoy\u2019s \u201cdynamic\u201d play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Philadelphia released Ryans in 2016 after more injuries and another coaching change. That\u2019s how a storybook career ended, without so much as a public announcement when he retired, one of the hundreds of men the NFL unceremoniously sets adrift each year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">He spent the following months pondering his future. His ex-coaches said he couldn\u2019t possibly fail. His mother said she\u2019d love and support him no matter what. Ryans considered starting a business, or devoting himself to the clergy, or finding a job yakking about football, or \u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">His phone rang. It was February 2017, and Kyle Shanahan had just been hired as the 49ers\u2019 coach following years of head coaching interviews, negotiating control over the roster and coaching staff, biding his time for the right situation. Now he\u2019d be bringing along a few old buddies from his days as Houston\u2019s offensive coordinator: Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel, Johnny Holland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">When Shanahan asked his new linebackers coach if had any ideas on a young assistant who might be looking for a job, Holland contemplated for a moment, thought of a familiar name, and said he just might.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<h3 data-qa=\"article-header\" class=\" pb-sm pt-lgmod\" id=\"2MFUAV35SFD2JDGZ3PTWYJ4NC4\">\n<p>\u2018Playing out of love\u2019<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Not long before the 2019 Senior Bowl, a top pre-draft showcase for NFL prospects, Dre Greenlaw heard something surprising from a man he\u2019d never met. Ryans, working the event alongside his fellow 49ers coaches, said he understood Greenlaw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">A talented but undersized linebacker, Greenlaw rarely told people that his biological parents had fallen victim to addiction and abandoned him. Disclosing that you spent six years as a ward of the state of Arkansas isn\u2019t typically something that will skyrocket you up teams\u2019 draft boards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">But Ryans, working the event alongside his fellow 49ers coaches, somehow knew that, before being adopted by a former high school coach, Greenlaw had spent years shuffling between foster homes and residential centers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cI ain\u2019t never told a reporter or none of my coaches,\u201d the young linebacker said recently. So how did Ryans know? \u201cThat\u2019s a good question,\u201d Greenlaw said. \u201cI don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Then Ryans shared something almost no one knows about him: He runs a group home for underserved boys in Houston. During interviews for this story, former teammates, coaches and Houston reporters said they had no idea Ryans was involved in such an endeavor. Even his mother said she knew few details about the home, something Ryans keeps largely to himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cAll I know is he has a home for boys in Texas,\u201d Martha Ryans said. \u201cHe just wanted to always do good for others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Citing preparations for San Francisco\u2019s division playoff game against Dallas and Ryans\u2019s head coaching interviews, the 49ers didn\u2019t make Ryans available to The Washington Post for an interview. But through a team spokesman, Ryans did confirm that his boys\u2019 home in Houston remains operational. He declined to provide additional details.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">This nonetheless provides a window into Ryans\u2019s priorities, and why San Francisco players are so loyal to him. When Fred Warner<b>, <\/b>the 49ers\u2019 star linebacker, was locked in a tense contract dispute with the team, Ryans shepherded him through the process. When Al-Shaair was a hothead early in his career, Ryans spent extra time working with him on controlling his emotions. When Greenlaw became the father of a baby boy, Ryans would text or stop him in the hallway to ask about his son.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cTeammates, friends you have from other teams, will tell you: \u2018Oh, hell no, I hate my coach,\u2019\u2009\u201d Al-Shaair said. \u201cThis is a special room that we have, a special team. When you\u2019re playing out of love for the guy next to you, you don\u2019t want this feeling to end.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">But players know it will, perhaps sooner than they\u2019d like. The 49ers\u2019 staff has been among the hottest for other teams to raid in recent years, with Shanahan assistants taking two head-coaching jobs: Saleh for the New York Jets and McDaniel for Miami.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Ryans figures to be next in line, assuming his relative inexperience, out-of-vogue specialty and race don\u2019t scare off some owners. This represents a conundrum in the 49ers\u2019 locker room, where, like the league at large, the majority of players are Black. The young men in here are conflicted, with some describing feelings of wanting Ryans to fulfill his potential as he dents the NFL\u2019s iron ceiling, but maybe \u2026 not just yet?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cFor him,\u201d Greenlaw said, \u201che\u2019s going to be probably out the building, but he ain\u2019t going to be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The linebacker knows he\u2019ll be able to reach out to Ryans and talk, no matter where the coach ends up. Greenlaw still doesn\u2019t like thinking about it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIt\u2019s going to be the hardest thing, man,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">A few days before the 49ers reported to training camp last summer, Ryans met Kubiak for lunch in Houston. Ryans was again preparing for his next chapter, and he wanted to discuss life as an NFL head coach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cI think he knows exactly what he wants,\u201d Kubiak said recently.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">But do team owners? Among the NFL\u2019s many veiled realities is that even the most hardcore fans have no idea what a head coach\u2019s job actually is, or is supposed to be, and this would largely include those who own the franchises and run the league. Ryans is perceived as a defensive innovator and master in-game adjuster, but neither is precisely true. The 49ers\u2019 scheme is identical to Saleh\u2019s, save for a few code words, and though Ryans was credited with his second-half modifications last weekend against Seattle, the defensive staff changed exactly nothing at halftime \u2014 or, generally speaking, in any of San Francisco\u2019s three games against the Seahawks this season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">What Ryans is, players and coaches said, is a generational motivator, people manager and selfless leader who is capable of drawing greatness out of humans. If the game plan isn\u2019t working, Ryans doesn\u2019t bail on it. He just pushes the right buttons to fire up his guys, and suddenly the 49ers\u2019 fortunes change. Kubiak, who is White and won a Super Bowl in his second chance as a head coach, and Joseph, who is Black and so far has received no second opportunity, said Ryans\u2019s skill set is what actually lifts organizations and leads teams to compete for titles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">That may be easier in some places than others, and some close to Ryans see Houston as a natural fit \u2014 at least on paper. He spends offseasons there, has his boys home and other charitable endeavors, understands the community and the Texans\u2019 building after coming of age with the team. Then again, with questions about ownership and the front office, and the fact that the team fired two hamstrung Black head coaches after just one season, Houston may be where excellence and ambition go to die.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIt\u2019s that good ol\u2019 boy thing, and there\u2019s a little bit of old racism there, that sentiment of: \u2018Can they do it?\u2019\u2009\u201d said Culley, who was fired by the Texans last year after going 4-13 in 2021 and refusing, he said, to fire the assistant coaches that General Manager Nick Caserio had hired months earlier. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t discourage him from going there. I would never discourage an African American from getting an opportunity of being a head coach at a place. Even that place.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Others adamantly disagree, taking exception to the suggestion that a Black coach should take a lesser position, especially one in which he seems predestined to fail. But it\u2019s tricky. The league needs more Black head coaches, and it<b> <\/b>seems to be at least interested in improving upon its failed Rooney Rule. But is it the job of a DeMeco Ryans to risk his good name to curb a disturbing trend? If so, what should be his approach? Be himself, as Culley suggests, or, as Joseph recommends, play to what an owner seems to desire?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIf you get one of those old guys who have their minds made up,\u201d Culley said, \u201cyou\u2019re not going to last anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">That would follow Shanahan\u2019s blueprint. Ryans\u2019s boss spent years as a coordinator, waiting for the right fit, before getting much of what he wanted in 2017. Josh McDaniels did the same before taking over the Raiders last year. Joseph, fired after two seasons in Denver, said that\u2019s not a luxury a Black man is afforded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cTaking the <i>right<\/i> job is absolutely right,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I get it, right; there\u2019s only 32 (head coaching jobs) in the world. \u2018I don\u2019t want to turn this job down.\u2019 Is it possible? Can it be done? Absolutely, but it\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">It\u2019s unclear what Ryans will do, or if he\u2019ll even be offered a head-coaching job. Friends and colleagues indicate he doesn\u2019t need the money, seems happy in San Francisco, is too smart and talented and popular with the 49ers to just leap into a troublesome position just to try to prove himself, and his way, against history. Then again, that\u2019s something Ryans has done time and again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIt\u2019ll mean a whole lot for Black coaches that didn\u2019t have the opportunity to see one of your colleagues, one of your brothers, get that opportunity,\u201d said Holland, who now works for Ryans nearly two decades after lobbying the Texans to draft him. \u201cKnowing him, he\u2019ll be selective. I want somewhere where he and the owner and the GM, they\u2019re on the same page; somewhere he can go and impact a team and a community and a city.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cMy prayer for him is that he has the right avenues to have success. Even if it means waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"dn-ns hide-for-print\" data-testid=\"mostRead\" subscriptions-section=\"content\"\/><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/CBMiT2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvMjAyMy8wMS8yMS9kZW1lY28tcnlhbnMtYmxhY2staGVhZC1jb2FjaC_SAQA?oc=5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Comment on this story Comment SANTA CLARA, Calif. \u2014 It was all so rhythmic, fluid, uncomplicated. The San Francisco 49ers were in cover-four, protecting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-example-3","two-columns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/NQ4O5OKFZFLX5JAEWMCFJRU55M.jpgw1440.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}