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Warner praises ex-49ers DC Ryans for his leadership of Texans originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
After struggling down the stretch, the Houston Texans turned things around in a big way with their 32-12 wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday — and 49ers star Fred Warner largely credits DeMeco Ryans.
The second-year Texans coach spent plenty of time with Warner during his time in San Francisco, and the All-Pro isn’t surprised to see Ryans succeeding with Houston since leaving the Bay for the head-coaching gig in 2023.
“The unique thing with me and DeMeco, we both came into it together,” Warner said during ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” “My first year with the 49ers was his first year as a linebackers coach, and I’m so happy with his success and the way that he’s leading this [Texans] group. Am I surprised? No, not at all, because this guy is one of the truest leaders of men that I’ve been around.
“And the way that he’s been able to motivate this group … You see this energy that he’s bringing. Tell me another head coach that you see running up and down the sideline motivating a group like this. That fire that’s within him, he played with that same fire on game day when he was with the Houston Texans and the Philadelphia Eagles.”
Ryans started out as a defensive quality control coach with the 49ers in 2017 before ultimately becoming defensive coordinator for the 2021 and 2022 NFL seasons. His first year as inside linebackers coach in 2018 was the same season San Francisco drafted Warner, and the two found plenty of success working together in the years to follow.
And the energy Ryans was known for bringing to the 49ers’ sideline is alive and well in Houston, where the coach began his NFL playing career in 2006.
The 2022 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year took the Texans to the NFL playoffs for the first time since the 2019 season in his first year as head coach last year with then-rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. After being eliminated by the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Playoff, Stroud and Co. now will face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium next weekend in the same round this postseason after defeating the Chargers.
All that’s standing between Ryans and the AFC Championship Game are the defending Super Bowl champions. And in Ryans’ quest to bring a championship back to Houston — plus, exact some revenge for the 49ers’ Super Bowl LIV loss to the Chiefs — it’s clear Warner has plenty of confidence in his former DC.
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