George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, Fred Warner praise promotions of Mike McDaniel and DeMeco Ryans

New San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is well-respected internally. He is also well-respected outside of the organization, as his name had been linked as a potential candidate for offensive coordinator openings across the league, including the Miami Dolphins. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that new Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley also considered McDaniel for his offensive coordinator.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan already lost his passing-game coordinator, Mike LaFleur, who left to become Robert Saleh's offensive coordinator with the New York Jets. Shanahan prevented the loss of another valuable assistant coach by promoting his run-game coordinator, McDaniel.

While Shanahan is expected to retain most of the play-calling responsibilities, McDaniel, along with LaFleur, was responsible for much of the game-planning leading to game days.

Two 49ers players — tight end George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk — praised McDaniel's promotion, feeling the move was well-deserved.


McDaniel, 37, has served four seasons as San Francisco's run-game coordinator. Throughout his NFL coaching career, he has been linked to Shanahan, serving with the 49ers head coach in Atlanta as an assistant, Cleveland and Washington as a receivers coach, and Houston as an assistant. McDaniel started in the league as an intern with the Denver Broncos in 2005.

The 49ers also officially announced the promotion of linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans to defensive coordinator, a planned move that was first reported last week by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.

Fred Warner weighed in on that promotion.


"He's so passionate about what he does," Warner said of Ryans last month via ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "It's not a mystery why he was so successful in the NFL, he's such a smart mind, and him and Saleh are very similar in that way where they're both really smart and know exactly what they want. The fact that DeMeco did play linebacker, that's exactly how is going to coach. He's going to coach you hard and aggressive and expect a lot out of you because he was able to do that when he played.

"From what I've heard and what different people around the league have said, when you play in the league, it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be a good coach. You've got to be able to be a teacher more than anything if you want to be a great coach. He's an amazing teacher. I've learned so much from him and continue to learn so much, and I think that's the key to being a great coach is the teaching part of it. I know with whatever happens with his coaching career, he'll be amazing at whatever he does."