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The DeMeco Ryans sweepstakes has started to intensify now that the 2022 regular season has ended.
The defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers has had his name mentioned for some of the early openings before “Black Monday” on January 9 (when teams decide to fire their head coaches) for being the brains behind the NFL’s best defense. But one analyst shared this wild proposal on Sunday, January 8 that involves a rival of the Niners: Ryans heads to the division rival Los Angeles Rams if Sean McVay, who has his coaching future pending, walks away.
“IF McVay leaves and you don’t go in-house I’m all for the Rams hiring DeMeco Ryans,” analyst Jake Ellenbogen of Downtown Rams shared on Twitter.
Reason For Sean McVay Having Nebulous Coaching Future
McVay, 36, witnessed a major fall after hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy in February 2022 — watching the injuries pile up and the Rams sinking to 5-12 overall.
Now, rumblings have swirled around the “Rams House” that McVay may take a step back from coaching and pursue a broadcast career, which he has been openly interested in down the road. Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reported on January 5 that “NFL TV partners are again eying Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay as a possible game or studio analyst for the 2023 season.” McVay, though, refused to answer questions about his coaching future following the Rams’ 19-16 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18.
“I’m not thinking about that right now,” McVay told the media.
He also stated on Friday before the road trip that while he was “flattered” his name has been mentioned in the broadcast realm, his focus was on the Rams.
However, league insiders Mike Florio of NBC Sports during “Football Night in America” and Jay Glazer of Fox Sports during Fox NFL Sunday’s pregame show both believed that McVay is going to walk away.
“I don’t think he’s going to take a long time to make his decision,” Glazer said. “But, there’s more people inside the building, when you talk to them, they’d be more surprised if he came back than if he left.”
Added Florio: “There’s a growing sense that he will [step down]. My understanding is it’s not because of burnout or he wants to get into TV, he won a Super Bowl and now he’s facing a multi-year rebuild that he just doesn’t want to be apart of.”
There’s still the potential for the Rams to go in-house and hire either assistant coach Thomas Brown or defensive coordinator Raheem Morris — both of whom have been mentioned as coaching contenders for the ’23 cycle — if McVay does walk. Yet, if the Rams make an outside pivot, Ellenbogen mentioned the 49ers defensive coordinator as the first option for the Rams.
“I understand trying to keep everything stable and going with the in-house options and would prefer that. But if not, yes DeMeco needs to be the move,” Ellenbogen posted.
Ryans Mentioned for Newest Opening, Which is a Familiar Place
Immediately following the Houston Texans defeating the Indianapolis Colts 32-31, the franchise announced that head coach Lovie Smith was fired after just one season.
Right away, the former two-time Pro Bowl linebacker for the Texans Ryans was named as a potential contender. Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports said Ryans figures to be one of the top targets for Houston, while Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported Monday that the Texans are interested in interviewing Ryans along with Philadelphia Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon.
But, the Texans could be needing to fend off the Denver Broncos for Ryans as Mike Klis of NBC 9 News Denver reported the Broncos have requested permission to interview Ryans along with Morris on Monday morning.
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