While preparing for his first game as a head coach, DeMeco Ryans has found time to reflect on a career as a player for the Texans and Eagles and an assistant coach with the 49ers.
Ryans is focused on Sunday’s game at Baltimore, where the Texans are 10-point underdogs, and he knows his 16-year NFL career fast-tracked him to become a head coach at 38. He’s thankful for the memories but more concerned about the present and trying to lead his team to a victory over the Ravens, a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
“This is a special place to me,” Ryans said, looking back on his six-year career playing linebacker under Gary Kubiak. “Being back here coaching the Texans is a special opportunity. I have great memories from here. I made great friends here and had great teammates. But I never lose sight that I’m tasked with leading these young men into a different era. The past is the past. It’s a new day for Texans football, and I’m happy to lead the charge to a new way and create a new path for the Texans.”
When the McNair family signed off on general manager Nick Caserio’s recommendation to hire Ryans and give him a six-year contract, it was met with universal approval locally and nationally. It created a buzz that had been missing around Houston and NRG Stadium.
Texans fans are realistic. After three seasons of losing -- 4-12, 4-13 and 3-13-1 -- they’re not demanding a miracle. They want to see improvement, noticeable improvement that gets everyone confident about the Texans again.
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Janice, Hannah and Cal McNair believe in Caserio, Ryans and the direction of the team. That direction is taking them to the banks of the Baltimore Harbor. Even though the Ravens are heavily favored at M&T Bank Stadium, it doesn’t dampen Ryans’ excitement and enthusiasm for the start of his head coaching career. He’s trying to set a standard for his players – the same kind of standard he had as a player.
“I want to see our team play with effort, precision and physicality,” Ryans said. “I want to see us play clean football and all 11 guys playing together, being on the same page and playing as hard as we can. It’s going to be a physical game, and I want to see us be the most physical team.
“I understand the job. We’re tasked to lead this group, and that’s what I’ll do to the best of my ability and make sure our guys are prepared and ready to go.”
New safety Jimmie Ward played nine seasons with the 49ers. His contract expired, and he followed Ryans to Houston. Ward was one of four players – along with safety Jalen Pitre, offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud – to be voted captains this week. When Ward speaks, his teammates listen.
“He’s the same person all the time,” Ward said about Ryans. “He’s just so consistent. That’s one reason I like him. You know what you’re going to get every day. He’s not going to change just because he got a bigger title. I mean, he was in (quality control), became a position coach and then a coordinator and now a head coach. Shoot, he might be a GM someday.”
Ryans and new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik started together on Kyle Shanahan’s first staff at San Francisco in 2017. They started at the bottom of the coaching ladder and worked their way up. Shanahan said he knew the first one to get a head coaching job would hire the other. The 49ers hated to lose them, but Shanahan said it was inevitable.
Ryans, who’ll make the defensive calls, has given Slowik his first chance to be an offensive coordinator and play-caller.
“One thing that’s been awesome is the way our defense sees defense and the way our offense sees offense (and it’s) very much the same, aside from the fact we have the ball and they don’t,” Slowik. “The fundamentals of what we try to do and the philosophy of what we try to do are the same wording. Both sides are firing off the ball. That does not change.
“There’s a lot of similarities across the board, which makes it very easy for he and I to constantly be in communication. When we were in San Francisco, it was the same. We were both doing coordinator-type things and constantly had to be talking to each other, and it’s not all that much different here, where he has to be able to stay in the loop on what’s (happening) on our side, and it’s an easy conversation.”
This is the third year of the Texans’ rebuild under Caserio. They need another offseason with free agency and the draft to realistically start thinking about the playoffs again, but the players and coaches are fired up about Ryans’ first season. He and Caserio have worked hard to get the team where it is now – ready to show substantial improvement.
On what’s impressed him about Ryans, Caserio said, “I've been effusive in my praise of him, and I think it's well-deserved. His consistency day to day, his attitude, how he approaches it. How he articulates and messages the team.”
As for their relationship, Caserio said, “We kind of lean on one another. There are some things that are strengths of his, some that are strengths of mine. I have blind spots. We all have blind spots. We can hopefully work together on getting to a resolution on some of those areas. It’s a collaborative effort.
“We talk every day. He's receptive to ideas. It's very reciprocal. I mean, I love every minute of the opportunity to work with him. Who he is externally is the same person he is internally in the building.”
Ryans was a coordinator and defensive play-caller only two years before the Texans hired him. He’s wise enough to know what he doesn’t know, and that’s why he’s got a lot of experienced coaches working with him.
“You can’t do it all alone,” he said. “You have to have help. You have to delegate and trust the people around you. It’s a lot of work, but I love it. I really appreciate having all the help around me.
“Also, don’t make anything up. Trust your preparation. Trust the process and the work we put in and let the guys play.”
Sometimes it’s a cliché to call a head coach a players’ coach, but it doesn’t ring hollow with Ryans. He genuinely cares about his players. Their performance on the field and their well-being away from the field are important to him.
“From my position as a head coach, with all of our guys, it’s first and foremost about caring for the individual man,” Ryans said. “All our players and coaches understand the spotlight we’re under, but I never lose sight of the men I’m dealing with on a day-to-day basis.
“We all have personal issues going on. Life hits us all, and how can you handle that? These players are resilient because they have to deal with the scrutiny that comes with the job, but they have to (deal with) life as well. They have families they’re trying to provide for. They’re humans who’re dealing with things all year.
“As a coach, I vow to never lie to a player. I never tell them something just to soothe their feelings. I always want to be honest with them, but that’s honesty in a humble manner, not in an arrogant way. I want to make sure I’m telling them an honest truth in a loving manner. It’s not a thing where I’m degrading guys.”
After playing six years with the Texans and four with the Eagles, Ryans always knew he wanted to return to Houston. After spending a season helping his high school defense back in his native Alabama, he spoke with Robert Saleh, who coached six years with the Texans and had been hired as Shanahan’s first defensive coordinator.
Ryans told Saleh he was interested in coaching. Saleh relayed the message to Shanahan, who called Ryans and offered him a job in quality control. Ryans said he always knew he wanted to be a coach.
“My grandmother told me before she passed, ‘You’re going to be a head coach one day.’” Ryans said. “I remember that day talking to her, and it always stuck with me. I never knew when, where or how it would happen, but that did put the head coaching gig on my radar when she told me that.”
And grandma’s prediction came true.
“I’m just thankful to be in this position to help these young men be successful in their football careers and also off the field in their roles as husbands, fathers and men in the community,” he said. “That’s why I coach. That drives me every single day to make sure these men are their best at what they do.
“It’s a working process. You start over building a new team, making sure we implement our fundamentals, our techniques and how we coach things. It doesn’t happen overnight. One thing about coaching is you’ve got to love that process, and I do love it. I love seeing guys from step one and seeing them improve. That’s the beauty of coaching, and that’s why I thrive.”
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on SportsRadio 610 and Monday, Thursday and Sunday on Texans Radio, also on SportsRadio 610. He writes five columns a week and does three Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.