Texans hire 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans as head coach

HOUSTON — The Texans have hired San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach, it was announced Tuesday.

The deal is for six years, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Ryans becomes the franchise’s sixth full-time coach. The Texans, meanwhile, become the first team in NFL history to have hired three straight Black coaches.

He had his first interview with the Texans on Jan. 20 and met again with the franchise on Tuesday. Other NFL teams that had requested permission to talk with Ryans about their head-coaching vacancies included the Broncos, Panthers and Colts.

Houston Texans,” owner Cal McNair said in a statement. “For so many reasons, DeMeco is everything we are looking for in a leader and coach for our organization. He has a proven track record for developing high-quality players and constantly innovated his defensive scheme over the last six seasons in San Francisco.

“We started this process with the goal of finding someone our fans and city can be proud of and we’ve done just that. While we received a lot of incredible feedback and support for DeMeco from different people, it was our discussions with him and his vision for our football team that made him the right coach to lead us as we continue to evolve as an organization.”

Ryans’ hiring ends a three-week coaching search since the Texans fired Lovie Smith on Jan. 8. Ryans, a former Texans standout linebacker, will be the fourth coach in Houston in four years after Smith and David Culley were each fired after one season.

Former coach and general manager Bill O’Brien was fired after starting the 2020 season 0-4. O’Brien led the Texans for six full seasons before that, and his 52-48 record (.520) leaves him as the only Texans coach over .500.

The franchise hired Nick Caserio as its GM in 2021. Caserio hired Culley (4-13) in 2021 and promoted Smith (3-13-1) from defensive coordinator in 2022.

Now Caserio has hired Ryans, who took over…