There are bad job interviews, there are good job interviews and there are great job interviews.
And then, there's "The DeMeco Ryans Job Interview".
Following his initial meeting with the Texans, the new head coach was so impressive he had team Chair and CEO Cal McNair and General Manager Nick Caserio ready to hit the field.
"We all kind of looked at each other like, 'Holy cow, let's go play football tomorrow'," Caserio said.
Ryans met with the Texans on Zoom for his first interview. It happened on January 20, just two days before the 49ers hosted Dallas in the second round of the playoffs. San Francisco's defensive coordinator at the time, Ryans didn't give off the impression that he was preoccupied.
"It was a Friday after they just finished practice," Caserio said. "He literally walked off the practice field probably 30 minutes before he sat with us, and they were getting ready to play the Cowboys in the divisional round. You would have never known that."
Caserio, who's gone on to describe the first round of virtual interviews as 'get to know you' type of interactions, liked what he saw from Ryans. A lot.
"It was one of the more impressive interviews, interactions that I have been around," Caserio said.
McNair agreed.
"You can see how impressive he is," McNair said. "This is how he showed up in the interview."
Caserio said Ryans' "passion" and sincerity shone through, and he ended the Zoom call on a high note.
"He said, basically 'I want to come home. This is my dream job. Let's make it happen'," Caserio said.
From there, the Texans had to be patient. They interviewed some more candidates. Meanwhile, Ryans and San Francisco beat the Cowboys and advanced to the NFC Championship game. After falling to the Eagles in Philadelphia, the Texans interviewed Ryans again and hired him on January 31.
Two days later, Ryans was introduced at a press conference inside NRG Stadium.
He’s in the process of filling up his coaching staff. The first interaction he'll have with the whole team will happen at the start of April when the offseason conditioning program begins.
