San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans watches as players take part in drills at the NFL football team's practice facility in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
SANTA CLARA — DeMeco Ryans has been thinking a lot about the Carolina Panthers this week.
It’s only natural considering Ryans, as the coordinator of the NFL’s most talked about defense, could be one of the NFL’s hot head coaching candidates for the 2023 season and the Panthers might be looking for someone to replace the embattled Matt Rhule.
Ah, but wait. Ryans insisted Thursday his focus has been on the Carolina offense and how to best attack quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Christian McCaffrey. As for all all that other stuff . . .
“I’m not worried about it,” Ryans said. “I’m worried about how we can get our guys prepared and beat the Panthers. That’s my focus and what I worry about. Things like that, I can’t control, right? All I’m worried about is making sure our guys have prepared and I’m able to be my best for those guys on Sunday.”
The 49ers may be only 2-2, but have a defense that some are already comparing to some of the great units of the game . . . the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, etc. The 49ers are giving up a preposterous 3.8 yards per snap in a league where the rules are geared toward offense.
Which would indicate Carolina (1-3) and its 32nd-ranked offense is in over its head Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Which won’t prevent Ryans from spending hours devouring film for the best way to get to Mayfield and McCaffrey from getting loose too often.
The last 49ers coordinator with a defense this good was Robert Saleh in 2019, and he ended up as the head coach of the New York Jets in 2020. This year’s defense could be better — it has impact players at all three levels and statistically is tied with Buffalo for first in yards allowed (234.5) and is first in points allowed (11.5).
Ryans was already a candidate last season, interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings but turning down a second interview. Considering the players under his charge this season, it was a wise choice.
He’s only 38, but the way Ryans has ascended the coaching ranks after a solid 10-year career as a middle linebacker for Houston and Philadelphia indicates he could be a head coach before the age of 40.
Ryans arrived in 2017 as a quality control assistant in 2017 after coaching linebackers with the Texans from 2006-11 and the Eagles from 2012-15. He coached the 49ers inside linebackers under Saleh from 2018-20 before being promoted after Saleh took the Jets job.
If the 49ers make another run deep into the playoffs largely on the strength of their defense, Ryans will become one of the most popular candidates on the interview circuit.
“DeMeco is so naturally talented, he’s good at everything he’s ever done and he really understands football,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He did as in quality control his first year, he did as a linebacker coach and as a coordinator. He was good right way. Any time you have someone with those abilities, the more reps they get, they get better.”
Ryans has an ability to relate to players having been one himself. He’s not the sideline firebrand Saleh was, but Ryans has similar ideas in terms of putting players in position to use their ability without overthinking things.
Carolina guard Austin Corbett, who played with the Rams for the last three seasons, has a pretty good idea what’s coming on Sunday.
“Through playing them three times last year and a bunch of years before that, it’s something they have instilled in their culture,” Corbett told reporters. “We know what they’re going to do. And I think they kind of take pride in knowing that we know, and we’re going to do everything we can to stop it.”
In a 24-9 win over the Rams on Monday night, Ryans changed things up a little more than usual based on the opponent. The 49ers used five defensive backs exclusively, with some blitzes that included slot corner Deommodore Lenoir, who had one of the 49ers’ seven sacks.
“I think it’s a feel thing, and it’s also a product of studying throughout the week and seeing how we want to attack our opponent,” Ryans said. “It’s also just a credit to our players and the vibe that I’m feeling . . . those guys bring the call to life. It’s not about DeMeco at all. It’s all about the players and what they’re able to do.”
With a deep defensive line led by Nick Bosa, sideline-to-sideline linebackers in Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw and the best 49ers secondary in recent memory, Ryans has a warehouse of talent at his disposal.
And more talent is on the way. Free safety Jimmie Ward and cornerback Jason Verrett returned to practice this week from injured reserve, although it sounds unlikely either will be ready to go Sunday.
It will be Ryans’ job to re-integrate the two defensive backs into an already deep unit, a dilemma he calls “a good problem.”
Ryans believes the 49ers ability to be strong on the edges with Bosa and Samson Ebukam on the defensive line as well as corners Charvarius “Mooney” Ward and Emmanuel Moseley helps bring the defense to life.
“There is so much more you can do and you have so much more freedom as a play-caller because you have confidence in the corners and the edge rushers,” Ryans said. “They’ve given us the ability to do a lot of different things and it’s allowed our defense to play some really good ball.”
Within the schematic structure, Ryans has urged players to simply “play football” and there was no better example than safety Talanoa Hufanga’s 52-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Rams.
“Instinctually when you’re able to see something and trigger on it, that’s what makes you a special player,” Ryans said. “Some guys can see something, but it’s like, `I’ve got to stick to my rules and just be a robot.’ ”
While Ryans takes care of putting together a game plan for each opponent, he’s also fostered a one-for-all, all-for-one mentality within the unit.
“it’s never about the other team,” Lenoir said. “It’s about us in here. As long as we’ve got each other’s back we’ll always be straight.”
Originally published at Jerry McDonald