Fred Warner has become one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL in recent years and helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl LVIII this season. He’s made three Pro Bowls and All-Pros over his six-year career with more than 100 combined tackles every season.
But Warner took a moment to credit Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, who coached Warner throughout his entire career in San Francisco.
“I’m not the Fred Warner you see here up here today without DeMeco Ryans,” Warner said Monday night in Las Vegas. “I’m forever indebted to him.”
“I’m not the Fred Warner you see here today without DeMeco Ryans.” – Fred Warner to @brandonkscott pic.twitter.com/w9I1ZWqDZk
— SportsRadio 610 (@SportsRadio610) February 6, 2024
Ryans, an inside linebackers himself for 10 years in the NFL, began as a Warner’s position coach in 2018 after the 49ers drafted Warner in the third round. In Warner’s fourth year, Ryans took over as defensive coordinator before he left for the Texans job after the 2022 season.
Warner is now one game away from winning the Super Bowl – a feat he and Ryans failed to accomplish in 2019 against the Kansas City Chiefs. In that matchup, Warner tallied seven combined tackles, one tackle for a loss and one interception in the loss to Kansas City.
As for Ryans, he helped build a Texans team that won the AFC South for the first time since 2019 before taking down the Cleveland Browns in the wild card game. Houston did so thanks to the culture set by Ryans as well as the play of rookies C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr.
None of that success came as a shock to Warner.
“I’m not surprised by the success they had in Houston,” he said. “I knew he was gonna build a culture right away of them doing the right stuff the right way.”