The latest picture of former San Francisco 49ers coaches at the NFL Owners Meetings will make fans of the team nostalgic. The 49ers' official Twitter account shared a photo that included Kyle Shanahan, Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel and DeMeco Ryans.
The picture shows just how impressive Kyle Shanahan's coaching staff has been in recent seasons. Saleh, McDaniel and Ryans were all 49ers' assistant coaches when the team reached the Super Bowl in the 2019 season. They have all since left San Francisco in consecutive years to become NFL head coaches.
It's the first time that Ryans is at the NFL Owners Meetings as a head coach. The Houston Texans hired Ryans to be their third head coach in as many years. Ryans was a San Francisco defensive assistant from 2017-2020. He became the 49ers' defensive coordinator in 2021, and the unit was the league's best in 2022.
Ryans replaced the departing Saleh, who was the 49ers' defensive coordinator from 2017-2020. After going 4-13 in his first season as the New York Jets head coach, Saleh led the team to a 7-10 record in 2022. The Jets have high expectations in 2023, given that they are likely to trade for Aaron Rodgers.
McDaniel took the Miami Dolphins to the playoffs last season in his first year as the team's head coach. McDaniel was San Francisco's run game coordinator from 2017-2020 before spending a season as the 49ers' offensive coordinator.
The 49ers hope they haven't missed their championship window. San Francisco has reached the NFC Championship Game in three of the last four seasons with no Super Bowl titles to show for it.