DeMeco Ryans (; born July 28, 1984) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who is the defensive coordinator for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Ryans played college football at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

, where he was named a

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

where he was recognized as the

Defensive Rookie of the Year Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...

. He was selected to two

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

s before being traded to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in 2012, where he spent four seasons before retiring. He joined the 49ers as a coaching assistant in 2017 and coached their linebackers for a few years before being named their defensive coordinator in 2021.

Early years

Ryans was born in Bessemer, Alabama. He attended Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

. In his senior season, he had 135 tackles, 11 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions. Considered a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Ryans was listed as the No. 39 inside linebacker prospect in the nation from the class of 2002. He picked Alabama over

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

Playing career

College

Ryans attended the

, where he played outside linebacker for coach

Mike Shula Mike Shula (born June 3, 1965) is an American football coach who is the senior offensive assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). A graduate of the University of Alabama, he was the school's head football coa ...

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...

team from 2002 to 2005. Ryans started his career by earning a role on special teams and back up linebacker in his first season. By making great improvements every year in his college career, Ryans went on to become the SEC's Defensive Player of the Year for his performance in 2005. Later on, Ryans attributed much of his college success to his defensive coordinator at Alabama, Joe Kines. He was named the

2006 Cotton Bowl Classic The 2006 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic was held on January 2, 2006, in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl. The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide of the SEC, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference. During the 2005 season, Alabama ...

defensive MVP in their 13–10 win over

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. Following his 2005 senior season, he received the

Lott Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize th ...

for his combination of athletic excellence and off-the-field achievements, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.

Awards and honors

*2006 NCAA Top Eight Award ( Class of 2006) *2006

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

– Defensive MVP *2005 Consensus first-team All-American *2005 SEC – Defensive Player of the Year *2005 First-team All-SEC *2005

*2005 Bednarik Trophy Semifinalist *2005

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

Finalist *2005

Draddy Award The William V. Campbell, formerly the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, is awarded by the National Football Foundation to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It is ...

Finalist *2005

Nagurski Award The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athl ...

Finalist *2005

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...

Semifinalist *2004 Second-team All-SEC

National Football League

Houston Texans

Ryans was selected with the first pick of the 2nd round (33rd overall) in the

by the Texans. He was the highest selected Alabama linebacker since Dwayne Rudd was drafted 20th overall by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. Though he had been an outside linebacker in college, he earned the starting middle linebacker position due to his excellent performance in the preseason. In his first game, he recorded a league-high 12 solo tackles. Ryans had an overwhelming impact as a rookie linebacker for the Texans, leading the team in tackles in the first half of the 2006 season. Ryans was named the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year after finishing second in the league with 155 total tackles (

Zach Thomas Zachary Michael Thomas (born September 1, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Texas Tech University, and was ...

165), 31 more tackles than the next rookie ( Detroit Lions linebacker

Ernie Sims Ernie Sims III (born December 23, 1984) is a former American football linebacker and current coach. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He also played for ...

). Ryans was selected to the

in 2007. On March 30, 2010, Ryans signed a six-year extension worth $48 million, including $21.75 million guaranteed.

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 20, 2012, Ryans was traded to the

in exchange for a 2012 fourth-round draft pick (used on Ben Jones) and a swap of third-round picks between the two teams (used on Brandon Brooks and

Nick Foles Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona and was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL D ...

) Ryans was immediately inserted as the team's starting Middle Linebacker. Although the Eagles were 4-12, Ryans still made plays, leading the team in tackles with 113 while adding a sack and interception. In 2013, Ryans improved even further, leading the team in tackles once more with 127, while also recording career highs in sacks (4.0), interceptions (2), and interception return yardage (46). On January 4, 2014, he had 10 tackles and his first career playoff interception in his first career playoff game with the Eagles, a close 26–24 loss to the New Orleans Saints. On November 3, 2014, Ryans was placed on injured reserve after tearing his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

. Ryans was released on February 24, 2016.

NFL career statistics

Coaching career

San Francisco 49ers

On February 28, 2017, Ryans was hired by the

as a defensive quality control coach. In 2018, Ryans was promoted to inside linebackers coach. On January 18, 2021, Ryans was promoted to defensive coordinator following the departure of Robert Saleh, who left to become the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the New York Jets. Following a successful postseason for the 49ers defense, Ryans was interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at the

, but declined a second interview and opted to remain with the 49ers.

Personal life

Ryans is a Christian. Ryans and his wife, Jamila, have three children: two sons named MJ and Micah and one daughter named Xia.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryans, DeMeco 1984 births Living people All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football middle linebackers Alabama Crimson Tide football players Houston Texans players National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners Sportspeople from Bessemer, Alabama Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Alabama American members of the Churches of Christ San Francisco 49ers coaches Bessemer City High School (Alabama) alumni National Football League defensive coordinators African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Ed Block Courage Award recipients