Report: DeMeco Ryans is a ‘perceived finalist’ for the Broncos job

Ryans is ineligible to interview for any head coaching job this week

Last week, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans met in person with the Denver Broncos for their head coaching position Friday. He also interviewed with the Houston Texans over the weekend.

DeMeco was supposed to have a busy weekend, but a report surfaced Sunday morning that Ryans canceled his scheduled interview with the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts.

ESPN’s Nick Wagoner tweeted Tuesday that the Carolina Panthers requested an interview with Ryans, but the two sides could not work out logistics during the open window for talks last week.

Those of us on the outside are unaware of how the interview process works at the NFL level pertaining to head coaches. So when Niners fans found out about Ryans’s schedule, a good portion felt as though Ryans wouldn’t have his full attention on the Dallas Cowboys.

As we know, Dallas struggled to score when it mattered and was often out of sync, while DeMeco out-coached the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator Kellen Moore all afternoon. Needless to say, distractions weren’t an issue for the 49ers in the Divisional Round.

Brian McCarthy, who is the NFL’s Vice President of Communications, tweeted valuable information regarding the NFL’s interview process. The 49ers won’t have to worry about potential interviews this upcoming week.

According to league rules, any assistant still coaching cannot interview this week, making Ryans ineligible. If the 49ers beat the Eagles, the following window for Ryans to interview is on January 30, but those must be completed by February 5.

And although Ryans cannot be hired until after the Super Bowl is over, he impressed the Broncos brass, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

Some believe that the Broncos could go first, as soon as Wednesday. They were very impressed by 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who can’t be hired by anyone until his team’s current season ends. Former Stanford coach David Shaw also has emerged as a very viable candidate.