Texans HC Rumors: 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans Has Houston as His 'Top Choice'

On Friday, the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported that the Houston Texans had zoomed in on San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as the top candidate for their head coaching vacancy and that there was "mutual interest."

A day later, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports added that "one source described the Texans job as Ryans' top choice this cycle."

Jones added that, "according to a league source, Houston and team owner Cal McNair weren't sure whether Ryans, who once sued the Texans for negligence, would ultimately want to be the head coach for the team. Multiple sources have told CBS Sports that's not true."

The Texans have already held second interviews with New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, and alongside Ryans plan to have a second interview with Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. The team can't interview either Ryans or Gannon again until after Sunday's NFC Championship Game between their teams.

Ryans has also interviewed with the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos, though he cancelled interviews with the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals.

The 38-year-old Ryans has a long history with the Texans, spending six years with the organization as a linebacker, where he was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006, a two-time Pro Bowler and registered at least 100 tackles in each of his first four campaigns.

He also spent four seasons with the Eagles in his playing career before moving on to coaching.

He has spent his entire coaching career with the 49ers, starting as a defensive quality control coach in 2017 before spending three seasons as the inside linebackers coach. He was then promoted to defensive coordinator in 2021, and his defenses have finished top-five in yards allowed in both of his seasons and top-10 in points allowed in each campaign.

That has made him one of the hottest coaching names on the market in each of the past two offseasons, and it sounds like the Houston gig is his favored option. Most people who have worked with Ryans believe he'll be an excellent head coach.

"He's got a natural quality about him that he's a good listener and he's a good decision-maker," one of his former defensive coordinators, Bill, Davis, told NFL.com's Jim Trotter in 2021. "He treats people with respect, therefore everybody respects him. I don't know how long he'll be a coordinator. DeMeco's so talented he will go to the next level and be a phenomenal head coach in this league because of the way he handles himself on a day-to-day basis."