On Saturday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans would interview with the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts ahead of the team's Divisional Round playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.
"He's going to do those interviews prior to kickoff tomorrow against the Cowboys," Fowler said on-air. "It's a crazy 72-hour window for Ryans. People around the league believe he has traction in Houston. He played six years there, was a great player, played alongside J.J. Watt and others, well respected. ... Ryans will be firmly in the mix on multiple jobs."
.@SportsCenter updates on DeMeco Ryans' busy 72 hours; what people around league are saying on Lamar, Carr; Brady/Raiders dynamic and dissecting Jordan Love's future in Green Bay. (With @thekimchipapi) pic.twitter.com/9iy4U1Ht6f
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 21, 2023
Johnny Venerable, a reporter for the Arizona Cardinals, stated that one of the interviews would take place on Sunday morning. Venerable's tweet (pictured below) has since been deleted.
Understandably, these reports were met with criticism from 49ers fans, who feel an interview on game day, just ahead of a crucial playoff matchup, is too much of a distraction.
A reliable source stated this information to be false. Ryans is not interviewing with teams on Sunday morning. The source did not state when the interviews with the Cardinals and Colts would occur, if they haven't already.
Ryans has already met with the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans about their head coaching vacancies. The assistant coach has been with the 49ers since 2017, replacing current New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh as defensive coordinator in 2021.